Stephanie's Great Escape
by Angela3511
Summary: After a crappy day, Stephanie reached her limit. Using the skills she learned as a BEA, she vanishes. How will everyone handle a new, stronger Stephanie? How will new Stephanie react to them? Babe, Joe friendly. A 'Strong Stephanie' story. COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Another day, another fight. I was tired of this, tired of trying to live up to the ideals that both Joe and my mother had for me. Tired of being told that I didn't measure up to goals that I'd never set for myself. Tired of being told I was a failure and an embarrassment.

I'd heard this so many times before, that Joanie Bertulli's daughter never worried her mother like I did mine, that Paul Johnson's girlfriend never showed up covered in garbage or stalked by a psycho. So it really shouldn't have been a big deal since I'm so used to it. Somehow, though, I'd just reached my limit.

My name is Stephanie Plum and I'm a bond enforcement agent for my pond scum cousin, Vinnie. I'm not very good at it in the usual sense, but I always got my man or my woman. I'm tenacious like a bulldog and incredibly nosy, and those two traits helped me when physical fitness or the ability to fire a gun couldn't. I seem to be a trouble magnet, but I swear that I never set out to get embroiled in all of these crazy situations. Somehow, I just end up in the middle of all the crap.

I was married for about two minutes years ago. I married The Dick to make my mother happy and proud of me, but that only lasted until I walked in to find The Dick screwing my arch nemesis, that skank whore Joyce Bernhardt, on our brand new dining room table. It's been all downhill from then, at least according to my mother.

So now I'm listening to Joe rant and rave about how I don't ever stop to think about how it makes him feel when I'm off chasing skips or am up to my eyebrows in some screwed up dilemma. He's flapping his arms and cursing in both English and Italian, shouting at me. I just snapped.

"Joe, stop it." I stood up and grabbed my purse. Thankfully, we were in the off phase of our on-off relationship, so there was nothing else to pack up in Joe's house. If we'd been semi-living together again, I'd have had to pack up all my stuff and haul them out of the house and into my tiny POS car du jour.

Joe stopped for a second to glare at me before he was off on another tirade.

"Joe." I spoke in a deadly calm voice, not at all usual for me. Usually if I'm mad, I'm acting more like Joe with the yelling and stomping around.

He stopped and looked at me. "What?" He snapped at me, his body and voice still vibrating with anger.

"This isn't working. I can't be who you want me to be, and clearly you can't accept me as I am. You've spent so much time yelling about how your ulcer is acting up that you haven't even asked me if I'm okay or not. And that tells me a lot about how you really feel about me. So, we're done. I hope we can be friends eventually, but this, this crazy ass thing we'd had going, it's just not going to work for me anymore." Still calm. I think I'm freaking Joe out even more than usual since I'm not yelling or screaming or flipping him off. I'm not one to do calm.

"Wait, what?" Joe looked confused, which isn't a normal look for him. I just stood still and let him process what I'd just said for a moment. "It's _him_, isn't it? It's because you want to go see _him_." He put a contemptuous emphasis on the word him and I knew exactly who he meant. We'd had that argument before, too.

I just sighed. "No, Joe, it's not about Ranger, it's about me. And you and I aren't good for each other. Not when I was six years old, and not now."

Joe wasn't listening, again. Nothing new there either. He was working himself into a whole new level of pissy and all of a sudden, I just felt tired. I already had my purse on my shoulder, so I simply walked out of Joe's house.

I threw myself in my POS car, a beaten up old Honda Civic of an indeterminable color thanks to all the rust. It started on the second try and I drove myself home.

There were no black cars waiting in the parking lot tonight. _Thank God_, I thought to myself. I didn't think I could manage a confrontation with Ranger or any of his Merry Men tonight.

The elevator had an out of order sign taped to it, so I grumbled to myself as I hauled myself up the stairs to my apartment. I blew one of my brown curls out of my eyes as I closed and locked the door to my apartment. I'm not sure why I even bother with locking the door since it seems everyone in Trenton, New Jersey, but me could pick the locks in under two seconds, but it was just the principle of the matter I suppose.

I tapped on the side of Rex's cage and he scurried out of his soup can. He stood up on his back paws with his beady eyes watching me while his whiskers twitched frantically.

"Hi, Rex. You still love me though, right?" No answer from Rex. I didn't really expect one, but it would be nice. Rex has been the most constant male in my life over the last few years, and it would be great if he could speak English.

I tossed a couple hamster crunchies into his cage, and he grabbed them. He stuffed them into his cheeks, making him look like a miniature, deranged chipmunk. His whiskers twitched again and then he dove back into his soup can home.

I dropped my imitation Prada purse on the countertop and sighed again. My answering machine light was blinking frantically, but I wasn't in the mood to listen to messages from my mom. My cell phone had been trashed again in the take down, and I was sure that my mother had left numerous "why me?" messages on my answering machine. I wasn't ready to deal with that. I might never be ready to deal with it. I hit the mute button on the phone and turned the answering machine off. I'd deal with it when I was ready.

I looked around my apartment. It was depressingly boring with bland colors and furniture. It was also a dump. Old pizza boxes and Tasty Pastry bags littered the floor and all other flat spaces. Clothes were scattered everywhere, and there was a laundry basket full of nice folded clean clothes sitting precariously on top of a pile of pizza boxes on the coffee table.

With another loud sigh, I grabbed the clean clothes and walked into the bedroom. Bedroom was just as messy, except more clothes flung everywhere and less food debris. I'd rolled around in garbage, again, today so it was great that my mom had washed some clothes for me earlier in the week.

I peeled off my stinky, stained clothes and dropped them in a pile on the floor. I needed a shower badly. After washing my hair twice and getting all of my nooks and crannies clean, I wrapped myself in a towel and glared at myself in the medicine cabinet mirror. Either the towel had shrunk in the wash or I had grown. Given the number of donut bags and pizza boxes in the small apartment, I didn't think the towel had shrunk.

I looked at the bruises forming on my face and chest. One eye was starting to darken from when I'd taken an elbow to the eye. I had scratches and bruises across my chest and shoulders from rolling around on the busted up sidewalk. There were a string of bruises circling my neck from when the skip had tried to choke me after I'd tackled him. I gave a slight smirk when I realized that as bad as I looked, the skip was probably in far more pain. I'd shoved his gonads into next Tuesday, and he was probably still in the fetal position in jail.

Even that small movement made my face and head hurt. I finished drying my shoulder length, curly brown hair, working some anti-frizz cream into my hair after towel drying it. My curls have a tendency to get super fluffy and frizzy, and I start looking like the girl character with the triangle hair in Dilbert if I'm not careful. I was trying to be careful since I had a large goose egg on the back of my head from hitting the ground with a thud. Good thing I'm hard headed or that could have really done some damage.

There wasn't much I could do about the bruises, but I spread antibiotic ointment on the scratches. The last thing I needed was to get some kind of infection. I didn't have health insurance and, at this point, I couldn't afford even a trip to the urgent care center.

I hung the towel back up, and pulled on a pair of silky pink panties and a Rangers jersey t-shirt as a sleep shirt. I walked back into my bedroom and flopped onto the bed. It was still early, not yet 8 pm, but I was exhausted mentally and physically. Despite my emotional turmoil, the physical tiredness won, and I was asleep in a matter of minutes.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I pried one eye open and glared at the clock on the night stand. It read 7:03 am, which is usually much, much earlier that I wake up. I tried closing my eyes again, but I couldn't go back to sleep. Weird. Usually sleep is one of my favorite activities. I was an Olympic class sleeper. However, I'd slept nearly 11 hours already, and I guess I was just out of sleep.

With a groan, I flopped over onto my back and pushed my hair out of my face. The sun was just peeking into the apartment but there was enough light for me to see the mess. I don't know why my life was such chaos, but it was. I should be used to it, but today for some reason it bothered me.

I hauled myself out of bed and went into the bathroom to answer nature's call. I pulled my hair back into a pony tail and then washed my face and brushed my teeth. It tasted like a skunk had died in my mouth, and I didn't want to live with that icky feeling any longer than I had to. Once the fuzzy teeth and pungent smell were defeated by the minty fresh toothpaste, I walked out of the bathroom.

The sun was brighter, and the mess in my room was even more gross in the bright light of day. Since it was a Sunday, I didn't need to go into the office. Ugh. Maybe it was cleaning day.

I pulled on a pair of men's boxes over my pink panties. Don't worry, they had never belonged to any specific man. I'd bought them during a sale at Macy's, and they were great to wear around the apartment.

I walked over to the cheap stereo and flipped through my CD collection. I needed something motivational if I was to tackle the mess. I smiled when I got to my own mixed song kick-ass CD and slid it into the stereo. Within moments, Journey was blaring, reminding me to "Don't Stop Believing".

Dancing to the music and singing at the top of my lungs, I danced into the bedroom. I grabbed the laundry basket off the floor where it had fallen at some point in the night and started putting up the clean clothes. Once my meager clean clothing was away, I started tossing dirty clothes into the basket. Once I'd picked up all the dirty clothes in the bedroom, I swung the basket up to my hip and started in on the living room.

The nearly bursting laundry basket was carried back into the bedroom and shoved into the corner of the room. I stripped the wrinkled and disheveled sheets off the bed and tossed them on top of everything else in the basket. I pulled out my only other set of sheets and remade the bed, fluffing the pillows as I went. It still smelled funny in the room, probably from the garbage covered clothes in the laundry basket. My lips twisted for a moment and then I walked into the bathroom. I grabbed a bottle of body spray from the cluttered counter and spritzed the laundry bag and the bed. Much better, now the room smelled like warm brown sugar rather than smelly brown garbage.

I returned the body mist to the bathroom and started tackling the messy room. Both towels smelled faintly of mildew, so I tossed both of those into the general vicinity of the laundry basket. It was so full now that nothing else would fit into it. The bathroom was a tangle of cords from my hair dryer and curling iron, about a million little pots of makeup and who knows how many bottles of hair stuff. I started methodically sorting the mess. Lots of items were tossed into the small trash can. Some of the makeup containers didn't even have enough left to do Barbie's face, let alone actually cover my bruised face. The same was true of some of the hairspray and styling bottles. Four or five had nothing come out when I depressed the spray button, so they followed the makeup into the trash. I stuffed the makeup that was worth keeping into a makeup bag I'd gotten for free when I'd bought some Clinique makeup on Ranger's Rangeman corporate credit card a while ago.

I found a half full bottle of bleach spray cleaner under the sink, and I cleaned the sink, countertop and the toilet. I started pulling out empty tampon boxes and squishing those into the trashcan. I found a wicker basket in the back of the cabinet. It took me a moment before I remembered that it was from a Christmas present last year. Connie had gotten me a big bath set from Bath and Body Works. I'd used all of the shower gel, soaps and lotions, but I'd kept the white wicker basket. I set it up on the top of the sink and was able to fit most of my remaining hair supplies into the long basket. With the floral makeup bag sitting next to the wicker basket, my bathroom actually somewhat organized for the first time in I don't know how long.

I grabbed the almost full trash can from the bathroom and walked into the bedroom. I picked up the trash in that room and continued into the living room. I grabbed a couple of stretchy white trash bags from under the kitchen sink and started stuffing those full of pizza boxes, beer bottles and food wrappers. It took three bags before all of the trash was gone. I emptied the bathroom trash can into the last bag, and tied it shut. I set the trash bag next to the other two by the front door. I'd take them to the dumpster when I was done.

I returned the bathroom trashcan to its rightful place in the bathroom and returned with the cleaner. I sprayed all of the now cleared hard surfaces with the cleaner and started attacking the crusted on ickiness with a vengeance. I'd stacked all of the dirty dishes in the sink since I don't have a dishwasher, so next I filled the sink with warmy soapy water. Once the dishes were dripping dry in their drying rack, I turned to examine the rest of the room.

I walked over and picked up a blanket that was lying on the couch and folded it. I arranged it over the back of the couch and signed. This couch was ugly, but at least it didn't have death cooties.

After vacuuming, my apartment was as clean as it was going to get. Rex was still hidden in his soup can. All this cleaning must have scared him since I only clean like crazy once or twice a month.

So now my apartment was clean, but I was a mess. I took another shower in my nice clean and organized bathroom. I'd dried my hair and tamed the curls but was still dressed in a towel when I walked into my bedroom. I'd left the CD on repeat, so I came out singing "Bad Medicine". I was following Jon Bon Jovi's instructions to "shake it up, just like bad medicine" and was shaking my hips and booty to the beat. That's when I heard a low chuckle from the doorway.

I screamed and whirled around. I felt my towel start to slip and I clutched at it with both hands, my heart racing.

"Nice moves, Babe."

I stared at the figure dressed all in black for a moment. He was leaning against the door jam, his arms crossed casually over his broad chest. Even in this relaxed pose, his bulging muscles were on display in the tight t-shirt. It was enough to make me want to drool. His dark eyes sparkled and the corner of his full lips were tilted slightly at the corners. Hmm, yummy, I love it when he has that half smile.

I stared at him for another moment to regain my equilibrium and slow down my racing heart. "Hi, Ranger."

"Gotta be…" he started.

"More aware of my surroundings, yeah, yeah, I know," I finished. "What are you doing here?"

I moved back to the dresser and pulled out my underwear. Ranger's eyes darkened slightly when his intense gaze moved to lilac silk bra and panty set I held in my hands. He took a step towards me and I held out my hand to stop him. It probably would have been more of a commanding gesture if it wasn't for the scrap of purple silk in my hands, but it was enough to break his concentration. He looked back to my eyes and his smile widened ever so slightly.

"Babe."

"Give me a minute to get dressed, please."

Ranger nodded and stepped out of the bedroom, pulling the door closed behind him. I hurriedly dressed, pulling on a clean t-shirt and my last pair of clean jeans over my silk underwear. I hung the wet towel back up and applied a bit of concealed to cover my bruised eye. I thought of the look on his face when he saw my underwear, hesitated for a moment and swiped on two coats of mascara for courage. I don't need Jose Cuervo when I need to manufacture bravery. I need lash lengthening mascara. Preferably waterproof and smudge resistant.

I walked into the living room and saw Ranger sitting on the couch. He'd turned the music down, but I could still hear it in the background.

I flopped down next to him and my mouth started to water as the scent of his Bulgari shower gel washed over me. Fighting the urge to lean in closer and sniff his skin like a beagle puppy, I turned towards him.

"So, what's up?" I asked.

"Heard you had an interesting recovery last night. You didn't answer your cell or return my message, so I wanted to make sure you were okay." Ah, that explains it.

When Joe Morelli is worried, he yells a lot and throws his arms around like he's conducting an orchestra. Cursing in Italian usually follows. When Ranger is worried, he goes deadly quiet. You'd have to know him pretty well to recognize the slight differences in his body language, but I'd gotten to know him pretty well over the last couple of years. I could see the tension around his eyes and I knew that he'd been really worried about me.

"Cell got destroyed in the struggle and I wasn't up to dealing with all of my mother's messages last night. Sorry." I shrugged.

Ranger's eyes narrowed. "Heard you hit your head pretty hard. You okay?"

It really was sweet that he was concerned. "Yeah, I'm fine. Few bruises and scrapes, but I'd had worse." That was certainly true. I'd been locked in a coffin, attacked by a crazed boxer and chased by a man in a bunny suit. This didn't even rate an honorable mention in the Stephanie Plum list of crappy days.

"You sure?" I just nodded.

Then Ranger smiled, showing a flash of his white teeth. Ranger smiling was even better than Ranger with a half smile. Yum. He looked at me and said, "I heard Martin was sweating for an hour after you kneed him."

What? Ranger smiling can make me forget my own name. Oh yeah, when I shoved Martin's gonads up his throat. "Well, he shouldn't have called me a whore" I said defensively.

Ranger's smile faded a bit and I hurried to reassure him. I didn't want to see the smile go any earlier than I had to. Ranger didn't smile much but I loved it when he did. "I'm pretty sure he's learned his manners now."

Ranger just nodded and his smile grew again. He shook his head. "Babe."

I stuck my tongue out at him and rolled my eyes. He just chuckled.

He glanced around and one eyebrow raised slightly. "You cleaned?" He sounded shocked. Hey, I clean! Maybe not often, but I do it when I run out of clean clothes or dishes.

"Yes, I cleaned. I needed to work off some nervous energy." His eyes snapped back to mine and I saw them dilate slightly.

"I could help you work off some energy." He reached out and tucked one curl behind my ear.

I swallowed. "All done now."

"That's a shame." Shit. Ranger is a flirty mood is hard to resist. I didn't really want to resist, but I was still feeling conflicted from last night's argument with Joe.

I scrambled off the sofa and practically ran to the fridge. I looked over my shoulder to Ranger, "Need anything to drink?"

A head shake. "Babe." In Ranger-speak, "Babe" can mean anything depending on how he says it. Now I was taking it to be amusement. That's good, right? Friends are supposed to be able to amuse one another, right? But then again, I didn't want to just be friends with Ranger. We'd been lovers for one spectacular night after he'd helped me to bring in Eddie DeChooch and my dreams and shower massage spayer fantasies had been built around that incredible experience. Then he'd walked out and told me to fix things with Morelli. When I thought of Joe, I sighed.

"Babe." Less amusement this time. More concern.

I gave myself a little shake and returned to reality. I grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge and walked back to the couch. I folded myself into sitting Indian style on the corner, so that I was turned facing Ranger.

He reached out and stroked his thumb over my neck. I felt my pulse kick into high gear and I'm sure he saw the pulse at the base of my throat start to race. He looked me in the eyes. "You sure you're okay?"

Huh? Oh yeah, the bruises. With Ranger touching me, I felt no pain, but my throat had been hurting earlier. Of course, singing 80s music at the top of your lungs probably didn't help much either. I just nodded, unable to find my voice.

A tear leaked out of my eye, surprising both of us. Ranger wiped it away and scooted in closer to me. "Babe?"

I scrunched my eyes closed tightly and tried to get my breathing under control. I only partially succeeded and felt another tear slide down my face. Crap.

"Babe?" Both of Ranger's hands were cupping my face now, gently wiping away the tears that escaped. He hugged me to him and I took a deep breath. He smelled so warm and sexy. I felt safe in his arms. He hugged me for a moment until I was able to breath without shuddering.

I leaned back and he looked at me. His brown eyes were full of concern and something else that I couldn't identify. I felt a sense of loss when his hands dropped away from my face.

"What is it?"

I took a deep breath. "I broke up with Joe last night." There, I'd said it. He'd warned me before that he'd take advantage of any opening if I let him. I hoped that he'd see this as an opening. My doodah warmed at the thought of him taking advantage.

He sat back. "I'm sure you'll work it out. You have before." His blank face was back, where I couldn't tell what he was thinking. I hate his blank face.

"No," I whispered. "It's for good this time. I just can't be who he wants me to be. I've tried, and I'm just not cut out to be a Burg housewife. And that's what Joe wants. He can't handle my job or…" I trailed off.

"Or?"

Another deep breath. "Or…. my relationship with you."

He blinked. That's the extent of his reaction? A blink?

"Babe. We don't have a relationship."

The hell we didn't! He was always there to save me when I needed help. He gave me cars that promptly went to car heaven. He bled money but he put his men on Stephanie alert any time there was a problem with me. He was always there when I needed him. He was always kissing me, finding ways to touch me. There was enough electricity between us to power Trenton for a year.

"We have something," I insisted.

"My life doesn't lend itself to relationships." Yeah, yeah, like I hadn't heard that before.

"Then what is this?" I was still calm. Wow, a new record for Stephanie Plum! Two calm conversations in a row.

"This is all it can be." Now I was starting to get a bit irked. What the hell does that mean?

So I asked him. "What does that mean?"

"It means that this is all I can offer you." Blank face again. Did I mention that I hate it when Ranger has his blank face on? My face is expressive. People can usually read my thoughts simply by watching my face. No such luck with Ranger.

"For how long?" I needed to know. No answer. No expression on his face.

I got it. In a rush of clarity, I understood. Ranger didn't want anything more with me. He liked things just as they were. I desperately wanted more than just friendship with him, but he didn't want anything more. He'd told me once that I was a line item in his budget under entertainment. Maybe that was enough once, but I felt strangely resolute now. Being an amusement wasn't enough any more. I wanted more. I deserved more.

I closed my blue eyes. "Okay. Well, thanks for checking on me." I opened my eyes in time to see some kind of expression flash across his face, but it was gone before I could think about what it was.

I stood up and walked towards the door. I opened it and held it open for him. "Thanks for stopping by."

"Babe, I…" I held up one hand to stop him.

"You've made yourself clear. I understand." I was struggling to keep my emotions in check and I needed him to leave before I gave in to the tears again.

I saw him nod once. Then he spoke very quietly. "I'll be gone for a while, not sure how long. Call Tank if you need anything."

I simply stared past him, not trusting myself to say anything. He walked towards me and I saw him swallow twice. He reached out one hand towards me and I closed my eyes. I felt a gentle kiss on my forehead and then he was gone.

I closed the door and locked the useless deadbolts. Then I turned and leaned against the door. I stayed that way for a moment until the sound from the stereo caught my attention.

Jon Bon Jovi again. What? I like Bon Jovi! "Shot to the heart, and you're to blame. Darlin', you give love a bad name." Fitting, don't you think?

That was the last time I saw Ranger.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I may not be the sharpest crayon in the box, but that day was a turning point in my life. In 24 hours, I'd had my heart broken twice- once by Joe Morelli and once by Ranger. Normally, this kind of relationship woes would lead me to sobbing in bed all day but this time was different. I felt different. Almost numb. Determined to never let myself be hurt again.

After Ranger left, I did cry on the couch for a while but I finally came to a conclusion. My life sucked, and it would never change unless I changed. I was stuck in a rut, trapped in a pattern that I didn't like. I was okay at my job but not great at it. There were many, many days when I didn't like my job at all. I struggled every month to pay the rent on an apartment was a place to sleep, not a home.

After my tears had ended, I dragged the laundry basket down to the creepy laundry room in the basement of my apartment building. I usually hate doing laundry down there, but it was better than taking it to my mom's house like I usually did. I couldn't face any questions from her. I couldn't handle listening to her complain about what an awful daughter I am. I know my mom loves me, but she doesn't understand me. The only person in my family who understood me and my wild and crazy ways was my grandma Mazur.

I walked slowly back up to my apartment. I sat down on the couch and I could smell the lingering odor of Ranger's Bulgari shower gel. That almost sent into tears again, but I gave myself a stern lecture instead.

I powered up my cheap refurbished laptop and started looking for a new job. I needed to move on with my life. I was in my 30s and working at a dead end job that I didn't really enjoy most days. I needed a change.

As I surfed the web on , I realized that I never wanted to see Joe or Ranger again. But if they knew where I went, one or the other, or both, would track me down. Joe's a good cop and he could find me. Ranger is a better bounty hunter and it wouldn't take him long to track me. Especially since he's got trackers planted all over my car and in my purse. If I didn't want them to find me, I had to be more sneaky than usual.

I developed a plan in my mind. I would just leave. I'd leave notes for my parents and friends to let them know that I was safe, but I needed to get away. That way they wouldn't think that I was kidnapped by some psycho. Given the number of times I had actually been kidnapped by a psycho, I didn't want to put them through that again.

I took the trash down to the front door of the building with me and then continued down to the laundry room. I moved everything from the washer to the dryer and then went back to the first floor to grab the trash. I tossed the trash in the dumpster and got into my POS car. I drove to the neared grocery store outside of the 'Burg area, one that I very rarely visited. No one knew me there.

I walked up to a stock boy. "Excuse me, but do you have any moving boxes that I could have?"

A pimply faced young teen turned around and pointed me towards one of the managers. He showed me a large stack of boxes that had already been flattened. "You'd need to tape the bottoms up again, but you can have as many of these as you need."

I thanked him and piled the boxes into the back of my car. I stopped by the Tasty Pastry for a Boston cream donut, loving the smell of the bakery. Who knew when I'd be able to get another donut from the Tasty Pastry?

I drove home and carried the boxes into my apartment. I spent the rest of the day packing up my meager belongings. I was surprised at how little I owned. I guess having your apartment firebombed cut down on all the crap you had to move. Almost all of the boxes were full of clothes or shoes. Once box was full of movies and CDs, with some photos tossed on top. One whole box was makeup and hair supplies, big surprise. Hey, it takes work to look this good!

I went to bed early and had to fight back the tears. Almost everything was packed except what I'd need the next morning.

I woke up early the next day. I went down to a car dealership near Stark Street where the salesmen weren't very interested in things like registering the car officially. I traded in the POS Honda Civic for a slightly less crappy Honda CR-V. It had about a million miles on it, but it was big enough to fit all of my stuff. I'd cleaned out my purse earlier and had removed anything that could potentially have a tracking device in it. So almost everything from my purse was left on my kitchen counter. I didn't want to be tracked.

I taped a note to my door for Dillon, the building superintendent. I let him know that I wasn't returning and to please not renew the lease that was up at the end of the month. I'd already paid the rent through the end of the month, so everything should be good. Most of my utilities were paid by the building and I'd cancel the ones that weren't later.

I went back home and loaded up all of my boxes in the SUV. The final trip was Rex in his glass aquarium, and I buckled him into the front seat. "You secure, buddy?" Of course, there was no answer.

I took one last look at my former home and drove away.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Author's note: **__Thanks so much for your kind reviews! I'll try to get back to everyone as soon as I can. I have through chapter 31 completed so far, so I'll try to proof/ edit and get them posted as quickly as I can._

_Please, if you have a moment, let me know what you think of my story so far._

_Angela_

_**Chapter 4**_

I'd stopped by the post office on my way out of town and mailed several letters. One was to my parents and grandma, explaining that I needed to get out of town for a while and clear my mind. Other letters went to Mary Lou, my best friend since elementary school, and to my friends Connie and Lula at the bail bonds office. I sent another short letter to Joe asking him to respect my privacy.

The last letter was addressed to Tank. It was just too painful to write "Dear Ranger". I told Tank that I'd be offline and to please not try to track me. I knew that he'd try track me anyways, but I had to try.

"Just you and me, Rex. Time to make some changes."

I drove almost all day. We'd made several stops for gas, food and bathroom breaks, but I had spent almost all day in the car. My lower back felt like it was tied in knots and my butt was numb.

I spent the night in a no tell motel, where I registered under the name Meg Ryan and paid in cash. I slept in a bit the next morning, but was on the road again by 10 am.

I drove to the mountains of North Carolina. I'd run into a friend of a friend from college a few months ago, and she'd told me that she ran an inn in North Carolina. She'd invited me to stop in if I was ever in the area. I hope that she'd meant it, because I was about to take her up on her invitation!

I found the right place and pulled in. I walked up the front desk but there was no one there. After standing around for several minutes, I finally called out a tentative "Hello?"

A few moments later, a teenaged girl rushed into the room. "I'm so sorry, I was in the kitchen! How can I help you?"

I smiled at her and asked to speak with Tina. She nodded and got on the phone, presumably calling Tina.

A tall woman with curly brown hair like my own walked into the room a few minutes later and then stopped, her brown eyes wide with recognition. "Stephanie?"

I gave her a finger wave. "Hi Tina."

She walked up and gave me a hug. "What are you doing here?"

I took a deep breath. "Thought I'd see if you offer of a job and room was still open."

Tina nodded. "Okay." Then she guided me to the back of the inn and into a small but cozy sitting room. "Spill. What's going on?"

"I needed a change. My life in Trenton was just the same old crap every day. I was just a disappointment to my family and friends. I just couldn't take any more of it. So I left."

Tina just nodded. When I didn't continue, she raised her eyebrows. "There has to be a man involved somehow."

A bitter laugh escaped, surprising even me with the sadness in it. "Two actually. One only wanted to be with me if I'd quit my job and become a Stepford wife. The other doesn't do relationships and said that there could be nothing more between us but sex and friendship."

"And you're not exactly a casual sex kind of girl." Tina handed me a tissue.

"Exactly. But one's a cop and the other is a bounty hunter, so I knew that they would find me. And I don't want to be found, at least not right now. I have to move on and figure things out for myself before I can face either of them again. So I thought about your offer a few months ago and packed up and headed south."

Tina just looked at me with compassion in her eyes.

"I know that you probably were just being kind when you said you needed help here, but I just had to get out of New Jersey. So if I could just rent a room incognito for tonight, I'll be out of your hair tomorrow."

"Stephanie, sounds like things have been pretty rough. I do still need help here, desperately actually. If you're willing to work with me, I'm sure we can figure something out together. And you're not paying to stay here tonight, you're my friend, you stay free."

"Tina, I don't want to be a bother. I'm sure…"

She cut me off. "Shush. Let's get you settled for tonight. It's our slow time so we aren't very busy. You can rest and recharge for a few days, and then we'll talk options."

I felt the tears start to well up in my eyes at her kindness. "Thanks, Tina."

Tina walked with me to my SUV and had me drive around to a cottage at the back of the property. I pulled in next to a Subaru Outback and put the car in park.

"This is called the Morning Glory Cottage. It's actually a duplex and I live in one half. You're welcome to stay in the other as long as you like. Since it's so far from the main house and the other cottages, we don't rent it out to guests. My former assistant manager lived here until she moved out several months ago."

She helped me grab Rex's cage and a couple of bags. Then she opened the door and I gasped.

The cottage was very pretty. It had hardwood floors and lots of windows. The walls were painted a pale yellow. There was a small U-shaped kitchen to the left when you first walked in, and it was light and airy. There was a window over the sink and the backsplash and countertops were large white ceramic tile. The cabinets were painted the same yellow as the walls and the appliances were white. There was an open breakfast bar that divided the kitchen from the living room. I sat Rex's cage on the kitchen counter.

The living room was small but comfortable. It had a beige sofa and loveseat arranged in front of a lovely gray stone fireplace that reached floor to ceiling. Above the fireplace, hanging on the stone wall, was a flat panel TV. There were built in bookcases around the fireplace, and the shelves on both sides were stuffed with books. On either side of the bookcases were two tall windows that let the light into the room.

Tina smiled at my gasp of wonder. "It's gas logs. It gets pretty chilly up here in the winter. The books were left over from when Emily left. She read all of the time, but she wasn't able to take all of her books with her. If you don't want to keep them, we can box them up and donate them to the library."

I'm pretty sure I shook my head no.

Tina just smiled and pulled me towards the staircase. Underneath the staircase was an open door. I walked in to see a half-bath at one end and a stacked washer and dryer unit tucked into a closet at the other end. The room was small, but it'd be great to have my own laundry facilities.

Then we walked up the stairs. There was a small open area with a white wooden desk sitting under a large window. Next to the desk was another bookcase stuffed with books.

We walked through the single door on the second floor and into a soothing bedroom with the walls painted a pale bluish-gray. There was a queen-sized bed with a white headboard with a white night table on one side. Above the bed was a framed print of Van Gogh's Starry Night. A navy blue comforter set piled high with pillows covered the bed. This room also had a floor to ceiling gray stone fireplace. There were windows on either side set about 4 feet off the ground. Underneath each window was a long, narrow white dresser. On the other side of the room were two doors.

Tina opened the one closest to the stairs and it was a small walk-in closet. I nearly swooned. A walk-in closet! I could fit all my clothes and shoes in here with room to spare!

The other door was to a full bath. It had a white shower and tub combination and a white and navy blue stripped shower curtain. The walls were also painted the same pale blue-gray and white fluffy towels hung on the towel bars. The vanity was white wood and rather long. Plenty of room for my hair stuff and makeup! Over the toilet was a storage cabinet that stretched all the way to the ceiling. Next to the toilet was a white wicker hamper and a small trash can.

I was in bathroom heaven! It wasn't a 70s orange and brown monstrosity like my last apartment. It was very peaceful and relaxing here. I loved it.

I turned to Tina. "Are you serious about me staying here for a while?"

Tina nodded. "Absolutely. And I'm just on the other side of the wall and my half is pretty much exactly like yours except in reverse. So I'm pretty much in my office at the main building or here almost all of the time. Just knock or yell if you need me."

My eyes filled with tears. I'd known Tina in college but we weren't really close friends. She'd been good friends with one of my good friends so we had seen each other regularly. People had always mistaken us for sisters. I'd only seen her a few times since I got out of college, though, so I was shocked that she was doing this much for me.

My thoughts much have shown up on my face. Have I mentioned that I have a really expressive face? "Stephanie, I know we don't know each other really well, but you're welcome to stay here as long as you need. We can chat later about you helping out some around the inn but I really think you just need to relax and process everything right now. How about I help you get things carried in, and then we'll get dinner and some groceries for you? Then I'll listen if you want to talk. If you don't want to talk, that's fine too."

I must have looked really dazed because Tina gave a little laugh and pushed me down to sit on the bed. Mmm, it was soft and squishy.

A few minutes later, she sat my overnight bags down on one of the dressers. She disappeared again and I heard the front door open. I snapped out of my funk and rushed down the stairs to help her. We carried everything into my new duplex. _Wow, I have a super cute duplex!_

Since there weren't a ton of boxes, it didn't take long to get things unpacked. I was practically giddy when I lined up all of my shoes around the perimeter of the walk in closet. _I have a walk-in closet!_

Tina was laughing at the expressions on my face. She started hanging up the clothes on the hanging bars. I'd just let the hangers in all of my hanging clothes and piled them into a big box. She was shaking out the wrinkles and trying to detangle all of the wire hangers. That's when my stomach decided to do its best bear impersonation and started growling hungrily.

Tina laughed again. "Grab your purse, we'll go get dinner."

For once in my life, I did as I was told.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

We took Tina's Subaru into town. It only took about 5 minutes before we turned onto the main highway. My stomach was growling like crazy at this point, and Tina would start to giggle every time she heard it. Her laugh was infectious, so I'd giggle too. By the time we rolled to a stop in front of a small restaurant, my stomach was growling almost nonstop and Tina was wiping tears of laughter from her face. I'd started crying from laughing so much too.

We walked in and sat in a booth near the back. Tina waved to the waitress who came over quickly. "Hi Becky. A Diet Coke for me, please, and a large order of cheese sticks pronto! We're absolutely starving."

The waitress turned to me. "Diet Coke too, please."

As the waitress walked away, I turned back to Tina. "Thanks for not saying that your friend's stomach is trying to eat you!"

Tina smiled. "You're welcome. I've had days like that, too, and their cheese sticks are to die for here."

The waitress, Becky, returned with two glasses of Diet Coke and sat down on the table two small plates. I continued to peruse the menu and I was practically drooling over the yummy Italian dishes.

I ordered lasagna with meat sauce and Tina ordered chicken alfredo. Yum!

A few minutes later, we had our cheese sticks. As Tina had said, they were amazing. I moaned out loud with my first bite. The bread was crusty and crispy, and the cheese was all gooey and melted. Tina just laughed and grabbed one for herself. She moaned a little too. "Mmmmm, so good!"

We munched in companionable silence for a while, listening to the murmur of the other diners. After a while, I finally had eaten enough to temporarily tame the hungry beast.

"Tina, thanks so much for this. You don't know how much it means to me."

Tina just smiled. "I went through a bad divorce a couple of years ago, so I know bad breakups. That's when I took all my savings and bought the B&B. I desperately needed a change so I pretty much ran away from everything else. So I know exactly how you feel."

I was surprised. I didn't even know that she'd been married. Then I started to feel guilty because I'd intruded on her life. Tina must have recognized my thoughts because she immediately said "Stop it, Stephanie! I'm happy to be able to help you out right now. We may not have been the best of friends back in the day, but I think that will change now. So no worries, okay?"

Have I mentioned how much I hate it that everyone can read my emotions on my face?

"Okay."

Another smile. Then the food showed up and I did more moaning. Tina was laughing so hard she was crying again. My stomach growled again and Tina snorted Diet Coke out of her nose. "Oh my God, sounds like you have a hungry cat in your belly!"

I smiled ruefully. "That's me, Cat Woman!" Except that made me think of Batman, and thinking of Ranger made me sad. And mad. But mostly confused.

"I love it. See, you're helping me out too. I haven't laughed this much in forever!". Tina was really very sweet and I was glad that I'd remembered our random meeting months ago.

I inhaled the rest of my food and discretely reached down to pop the top button on my jeans. I'd eaten too much. I couldn't even manage dessert. You know things are bad if I can't eat dessert!

Tina paid the bill over my protests. "Stephanie, for right now, you are my guest! La la la, I can't hear you!" I started laughing and Tina grinned in triumph.

Then she took me to a local grocery store. We wandered through the store picking up items for both of us. Since there was no food in my side of the duplex, I loaded up on all of the basics: beer, bread, peanut butter, snack cakes and potato chips.

"Is that all you're planning to get?" Tina was horrified at my skimpy shopping basket.

"Umm, yeah?"

"How on earth do you stay so skinny eating like that?" I was stumped. I knew that I ate like crap and I rarely worked out, but so far my Hungarian metabolism had kept everything in check. Well, there was that time that everyone thought I was pregnant because I started gaining weight. But still.

"I don't know. Just lucky so far, I guess." Tina shook her head and pointed the cart back towards the front of the store. She made me fill the cart with fruits and vegetables, over my vigorous protests, cereal, lunch meat, milk and other things she considered staples. When we got to the frozen food aisle, she snuck a quick peek at me glaring at the bag of apples and grabbed a couple of pints of Ben and Jerry's ice cream. Okay, I liked Tina again.

We got to the front and checked out. I reached for my wallet but Tina stopped me. "We can settle up later. I'll get it for now."

"Tina," was all I was able to say before she shoved her debit card at the clerk. She just grinned cheekily at me. "You didn't want to get most of that, don't lie, so I'll get it for now."

I was getting really indebted to her. When I thought about debts, that made me think about Ranger and how there was no price for things between us. That made me sad again and I think Tina picked up on my mood. I was very quiet on the way back to the inn.

Tina helped me carry everything into the duplex and put it up. She was very quiet as well. I couldn't stop thinking about Ranger and our last conversation. I felt the tears start up and I was exasperated with myself. I'd left New Jersey to avoid him, and here I was crying over him several states away. Ugh! Mental head slap.

"Stephanie, do you want to talk about it?"

I shook my head no. Tina walked over to me and gave me a gentle hug. "I'll be next door if you change your mind. The ice cream is in the freezer if you need it."

If I needed it, ha! Of course I'd need ice cream. I was in a world of hurt and the only guys in my life from now on would be Rex, Ben and Jerry.

I heard the door close gently and I realized that Tina was gone. I started crying again and I made my way to the sofa in front of the fireplace. I flopped down and hugged one of the throw pillows to my chest.

I ate all of the Ben and Jerry's that night and drank several bottles of Corona. That didn't erase the ache from around my heart, but it did help to dull it a bit.

I spent the next few days in a bit of a stupor. I'd been so focused on getting out of Trenton that I hadn't really taken the time to think about the end of my relationships with both Joe and Ranger. It hurt. I hurt. Tina came over several times each day with food and more tissues. She really was a good friend. She dragged me over to her side of the duplex one evening for dinner. We had breakfast for dinner and she made a huge stack of buttermilk pancakes. If I didn't like men quite so much, I'd have proposed then and there.

I told Tina this and she just laughed. "That's very flattering, Steph, but I like men. Sorry!" No problem. As long as she keeps making pancakes, we'll be good.

By the end of the week, Tina had cajoled me into taking several long walks around the area. There was a walking path in the woods around the inn, and we walked it almost every afternoon. Sometimes I would babble about Joe or Ranger and sometimes we'd just be quiet.

I was starting to regain my peace.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Author's Note: **__Change of perspective in this one. This chapter takes place in Trenton while Stephanie is in North Carolina, so there's no way for Stephanie to be able to narrate it. So I've switched to the third person._

_What do you think? Does the switch in perspective work here? Any other literary devices for explaining Ranger's POV?_

_Please review!_

_Angela_

_**Chapter 6**_

Things were anything but peaceful back in Trenton. Everyone had received their letter but no one accepted Stephanie's wishes to not be tracked. Unfortunately for them, she'd picked up enough skills as a bounty hunter to be able to disappear. Tank had Merry Men out everywhere looking for her but she'd managed to find all of the tracking devices they'd hidden in her purse. Because she'd left notes and there was no evidence that she had been coerced into leaving, it wasn't an official police matter. Joe was still trying to find her, though, convinced that Stephanie had left because of him.

Her parents were frantic, but her grandma just told Stephanie's mother that she'd be back when she felt like it. She thought Stephanie was off having an adventure, hopefully with a hot man with a nice package.

Ranger was still in the wind and hadn't yet checked in with Tank. Stephanie been gone a week at this point and of course it was the talk of the town. Gossip is the lifeblood of the 'Burg and she was one of the main suppliers of gossip. Who knows what they will do without her as gossip fodder.

It was more than a month after Stephanie's disappearance before Ranger returned. He'd been out of communication for the entire time for this particular mission and he was stunned to learn about Stephanie's vanishing act. He showed up at the Rangeman offices tired, hungry and cranky. He'd been feeling very guilty about the way things had ended during their last conversation and he wanted to make sure things were still cool. So imagine his surprise to learn that she had been gone without a trace for over a month.

"What?" he bellowed. "What do you mean that Stephanie's been gone for a month?"

Tank raised his eyebrows. Ranger rarely ever raised his voice, let alone yelled about anything. He knew that Ranger would be upset but usually Ranger kept such tight control over his emotions that no one would ever know how upset he was.

Tank nodded. "She disappeared the day after you left. She stopped by the donut shop that afternoon and that's the last anyone here has seen of her."

Ranger was glaring at Tank like it was his fault. "And?"

"And she sent out letters telling everyone that she needed to get away and to please not try to find her."

"She wrote me a letter to say that?" Ranger's voice was incredulous.

Tank shifted slightly, very uncomfortable with this part of the story. "Um, no, actually, the wrote the letter to me."

Ranger now had his emotions under better control and he was quiet. Lethally quiet. "She wrote it to you?"

"Yes." Tank walked to a file cabinet and pulled out a manila folder. He handed it to Ranger, who opened it.

_Dear Tank,_

_I need to get away for a while. Things just aren't going well for me personally or professionally in Trenton, so I'm going to try something else. _

_I promise you that I'm safe and that I'll stay safe. Please don't try to track me. Please follow my wishes and just leave me alone. _

_I'll be in touch when I'm ready but not before._

_Stephanie_

_PS: Tell all the Merry Men hello for me and that I'll talk to them eventually._

It was only because Tank knew Ranger so well that he could read the hurt on his face. He was deeply upset that Stephanie hadn't written the letter to him and that she'd not even mentioned him in her letter to Tank.

Ranger turned away from Tank and ran his hands over his exhausted face. He couldn't believe that she'd left, that she'd been gone all this time. He thought about all the psycho stalkers she'd had in the past and he was filled with worry.

"Are you sure she left voluntarily?"

Tank took the file out of Ranger's hand and filled past the note. "Bank surveillance cameras show only her cleaning out her checking and savings account. She even waved at the camera." He pointed to a photo of Stephanie smiling and giving her signature finger wave to the camera.

Ranger's heart contracted and his chest felt tight for a moment looking at Stephanie. Her smile was sad and her eye still looked bruised, but she looked so incredibly beautiful to Ranger.

"All of her clothes and personal stuff are gone. Her hamster is gone. No prints that didn't belong there. No evidence of a struggle. It's the cleanest that I've ever seen her apartment." Tank reported.

"She'd just finished cleaning when I saw her that Sunday," Ranger murmured. He was still in shock. He'd been in actual hypovolemnic* shock from gunshot wounds or stabbings before, but this still hurt more than any of those previous events.

Tan continued, "Trenton PD ruled it a voluntary departure and not a missing person, so they aren't officially investigating it any longer."

Man, Tank thought, he looks rough.

Tank took a deep breath and continued. "We kept investigating, of course. Looks like she left voluntarily. All her bank accounts were cleaned out. Family and close friends got letters. Even the chief of police got a letter! She traded cars and left all her tracking devices at her apartment. No action on any bank accounts, credit cards, cell phone or email. No reported sightings anywhere. She's just… gone."

Tank really didn't want to be the one tell Ranger that they'd lost Stephanie while he was gone. Everyone knew that the man was crazy about her and that she was crazy about him.

Ranger just stood in shocked silence. Tank sat down and just watched Ranger. His blank face was on, but Tank knew him well enough to recognize that he was feeling a lot of emotions currently. He'd wait him out.

After several minutes, Ranger snapped out of it. "What more can we do?"

Ah, the hard question. "Nothing more that I can think of. She doesn't want to be found and she's learned enough from skip tracing to not be found until she's ready. We've set up alerts if she uses anything linked to her name or known accounts."

Ranger's face looked like it was carved out of granite. There was no discernable emotion on his face, but he was seething with emotion beneath the surface.

Ranger dreamed of Stephanie that night, of their last conversation. He remembered her dancing in the towel holding the sexy purple underwear. He remembered the tears coursing down her pale cheeks and how she'd felt in his arms when he'd tried to comfort her. He remembered the pain in her beautiful blue eyes when he had told her that they didn't have a relationship and that they couldn't ever have a relationship. He felt the softness of her skin as he'd brushed the kiss across her forehead. He hoped that was not the last kiss he ever had with her.

Ranger had faced his feelings for Stephanie before, when she'd been kidnapped by several psychos. He remembered feeling rage when Scrog had kidnapped her. Her kidnapping was even more traumatic than Julie's for him because he'd shut himself off from Julie so much. Stephanie had captured his heart before he ever became aware of the danger.

He knew he loved her, without the qualifications he usually gave her, but he honestly thought he was doing the right thing in keeping his distance. He could be killed at any time on a mission. His enemies could try to use Stephanie to exact revenge like Scrog had.

But he realized too late that Stephanie had left him of her own accord that keeping his distance didn't lessen the pain. It didn't prevent him from the overwhelming hurt that she'd left Trenton, had left him because he'd been an ass.

He lay alone on his soft bed that Stephanie had loved so much and he vowed to find her. Babe, he thought, please come back.

Definitions:

*Hypovolemnic shock- low blood volume, like if you get shot and leak all your blood out. There's nothing left for your heart to pump and you'll die if you don't get a transfusion quickly. I used to work in an ER.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Author's note: **__Back to Stephanie's POV._

_Please review!_

_Angela_

_**Chapter 7**_

It had been three wonderful and peaceful months. I've been working as Tina's assistant manager, helping out in the office and around the inn. Because I didn't want Ranger or Joe to find me, I'd worked out with Tina that I stayed rent-free and she gave me some cash to cover incidentals like groceries and more shoes to fill up that magnificent walk in closet. Since it wasn't being reported to the government, there was no way for me to be traceable. I was using the name Stephanie Walker. Stephanie is a common enough name and I was far enough from New Jersey that no one could connect me to the Bombshell Bounty Hunter.

I was having my usual weekly dinner with Tina and she seemed very nervous. I got sick of the little glances she kept shooting my way and the way that she'd open her mouth to say something but then close it again.

"Something you need to tell me?" I asked.

Tina sighed. "No, more to ask you." She took a deep breath. "You've been here for three months now and things are great. You're a great roommate and assistant and I really appreciate your hard work in helping me get things organized."

I had a squishy feeling in my stomach. This couldn't be good. Did Tina want me to leave? "But you want me to move out?" I couldn't keep the edge of panic out of my voice.

Tina looked up in surprise. "Oh no! No! I'm just thinking that it's been months since you've contacted your family and friends. Don't you think they might be, you know, worried?"

Phew. At least I wasn't going to be homeless. "Yeah, probably, but if I call or email, they'll be able to trace me. And I'm not ready to be found yet!"

Tina nodded. She'd been reading a bunch of spy novels since I've been in hiding and I'd told her about the kind of superspy computer stuff that Rangeman could do.

"I know. But I've been thinking. I have to go to Philadelphia to visit my family for the holidays soon, so maybe I could mail letters for you from there? That way they could only trace them back to Philadelphia, which we know that you're not in. Or maybe you could come with me and you could email them or call them or something." She paused for a minute to let me think about her options.

I nodded slowly. "I don't think I'm ready to go to Philly yet. I'm still feeling too... well, just not yet. But I guess I could write some letters. As long as I'm the only person to touch the envelopes and stamps and such, they wouldn't be able to trace them back to us."

"Yeah, I was thinking that you could write them on regular generic stuff from Walmart and then put the sealed letters into a plastic bag. Then I'll drop them into a mailbox touching only the plastic bag so it can't be traced." Tina had really gotten into the whole spy thing!

I couldn't help but smile at my friend's enthusiasm. I still felt guilty sometimes that she was doing so much to help me, but Tina always reassured me that I was helping her. I had done a lot to organize the inn's records and I'd updated the website multiple times with new photos, text and overall layout. I'd negotiated with several local vendors and suppliers for better rates, drawing upon my long ago skills as a lingerie buyer for E.E. Martin. I'd arranged for special discounts at several local attractions for guests of the inn. Occupancy numbers were edging up and hopefully I was part of the reason for that trend.

Also, since I knew the business pretty well now, Tina was able to take days off and do things away from the inn. She said that she'd not had a full day off until I arrived since her trip to Trenton when I'd seen her months ago. She'd started casually dating a couple of men nearby, so it was nice for her to have some time off premises.

It was nearly the holidays, after all, so perhaps I should send cards to friends and family. Hmmm. Decision made, I nodded at Tina.

"Yeah, I'll get some cards and write notes in them. Then you can send them for me if that's okay with you."

"Absolutely!"

It took me several days to figure out how to do this. I was feeling rather paranoid after reading all of Tina's spy novels and I didn't know for sure that the checkout person at Walmart didn't have a criminal record and be traceable back to this small town in North Carolina. If I was tracked to Blowing Rock, then they could find me pretty easily.

So I decided to order cards from online greeting card companies. They'd be mailed to the inn, and odds are very good that they'd be sending out tons of cards since it was so close to the holiday season. As long as I ordered a bunch of different cards from different companies, there shouldn't be any way to trace them back to me. I spent hours on the internet poring though about a million different cards. I knew that I was being overly cautious, but it was always a good idea to be too careful with Ranger than not careful enough.

I'd found perfect cards for my friends and family. When I'd told Tina my plan, she decided to order all of her holiday cards online too to throw any snoopy Merry Men off the track. So we ordered a ton of cards from multiple companies.

Most of the cards were fairly generic, except for two. I'd found a card with a bunch of really buff guys naked guys holding Santa hats over their, um, packages as grandma Mazur would say. It said on the inside "Hope you have fun under the mistletoe!" It was perfect for the Merry Men. I'd also found a card with Batman wearing a red Santa hat rescuing a cat from the top of a Christmas tree. I had to send that one to Ranger! It was left blank on the inside and it took me forever to come up with the right words.

Finally, Tina left for her trip with my cards carefully sealed inside a large plastic bag. She promised to put them in the mailbox her last day in Philadelphia.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Author's note: **__ And we're back to the third person to see things from Ranger's POV. I promise to try to keep the flipping of perspectives to a minimum, but I thought it was important to see how Ranger and his Merry Men are handling Stephanie's absence. _

_Please review!_

_Angela_

_**Chapter 8**_

It had been four hellish months since Stephanie left, and Ranger had not yet given up the search for her. He still went by her favorite places on a regular basis and checked in with all of her friends every week or two to be sure that Stephanie hadn't contacted them.

Ranger couldn't believe that Stephanie had been gone almost half a year. It just didn't seem possible. At times, he could still smell her perfume and hear her laugh. Some nights his dreams were so vivid that he'd wake up reaching for Stephanie next to him in his bed. He'd spent most of his time off work in the gym, trying to work off his frustration, fear and anger.

After all this time with no contact, he kept imaging Stephanie dead or hurt. He couldn't stand the thought that she was gone or that she was in pain waiting for him to find her. He'd always found her in the past, even when the crazy undertaker and psycho Scrog had her. He'd found her, and he'd saved her. He had to find her!

He'd exhausted every lead, though. It was ironic, but Stephanie's work at Rangeman doing research had taught her exactly what to do to not be found. She knew all of their tricks, she knew what the computer programs could track. She knew to avoid any type of bank or credit account. Ranger knew she had to be using a pseudonym, assuming she was still alive. It was making him crazy.

He flew down to his Miami office to spend the holiday with Julie. Losing Stephanie made him realize how distraught he'd be to lose Julie too. He wanted, he needed, to be a part of her life. He spent two weeks in Miami with Julie, his other family members who lived in Miami and his Rangeman office. He'd even asked Silvio to try tracing Stephanie electronically, but he came up empty too. She was just too good to be found.

He returned to New Jersey right before the holidays. He'd been happy to spend time with Julie and his family, but part of him remained worried about Stephanie. He could never quite get her out of his mind, no matter how hard he tried. He usually worked double shifts on the holidays to give his employees more time to spend with their families and friends, so he'd arrived back in New Jersey on December 21st.

Tank was leaving the next day for a long holiday weekend with Lula. They'd rekindled their romance while searching for Stephanie. That's the only good thing that came from her disappearance. Ranger and Tank met briefly the morning of December 22nd before Tank left.

"Everything's fine. A few attempted robberies but we were able to stop them in each case. Nothing was stolen. We have a couple of outstanding skips from Vinnie, but we've gotten most of them back in the system." Tank reported.

It had become almost routine at this point, but Ranger had to ask. "Anything on Stephanie?"

Tank shook his head. "No."

Ranger sighed. It was going to be a long week of double shifts.

Tank spoke again. "I've gone through all the regular mail but we've also received several cards. I opened a few but most are specifically for you, so I've left a stack for you to open. A few had… personal info included that I didn't want to know about."

Ranger looked up from the pile of paperwork on his desk. "Personal?"

Tank smirked. "Mostly phone numbers from ladies and their personal measurements. You know, 36-24-36?"

Ranger showed a bit of annoyance at that. "Why not just toss them all then?"

Tank shrugged. "Most of them are pretty generic and nice. It's only been a couple that are weird."

Ranger nodded. "Okay, take off. Have a good time."

Ranger was already flipping through the pile of stuff on his desk, so Tank left to pick up Lula for their hot weekend.

Two cards stood out to Ranger. They didn't have a return address the handwriting looked familiar.

He opened the first and forgot to breathe. It was a card with a picture of Batman with a Santa hat. His hand trembled and his heart raced. He opened the card with hope in his heart for the first time in almost five months.

_Merry Christmas, Batman!_

_Hope that all is well with you. I'm fine, don't worry about me. Don't try to find me. Just need some time away. Hope that you spent some time with Julie for Christmas._

_Take care of yourself,_

_Stephanie_

Ranger traced his hand over the signature. His heart leapt when he realized that she was okay. He'd been worried that her extended silence meant that something terrible had happened despite the evidence that she'd left voluntarily.

He ripped open the other card to find a bunch of shirtless guys holding Santa hats over their groins. He flipped the card open.

_Merry Christmas, Merry Men!_

_I hope that you're all doing well and that you have a wonderful holiday season. Please don't worry about me, I'm doing just fine. Just taking a time out from New Jersey's winter._

_Hope you have fun under the mistletoe!_

_Love,_

_Stephanie_

He smiled. She was alive! Only Stephanie would know about the Batman joke and that she called his men Merry Men. His men secretly found the moniker funny, but they'd die before they told her that.

He compared the two cards and smiled at her sense of humor. He usually acted like he didn't have any sense of humor, but he did actually find a lot of things amusing. He had just been trained by the military not to show his emotions.

He was hurt that she'd signed her card to him casually but had signed the card to the men with love. But he realized that she was at least thinking about him and wanted him to know that she was okay.

He stood up and walked into the command center. Even though it was the holidays, it was still staffed. There weren't quite as many men on duty as usual, but there were still several Merry Men watching surveillance cameras and doing research.

Ranger cleared his throat. "Gentlemen."

Everyone looked up at Ranger. He continued, "We received Christmas cards from Stephanie." He held them up.

The room broke out in pandemonium. Lester snatched the Merry Men card out of his hand and flipped it open. He started laughing once he read it. "Hey Hector," he yelled, "this one is for you!" Hector was the only openly gay employee, but he was a scary badass so no one denigrated him about his sexual orientation.

Ram had grabbed the other card and laughed at the photo on the front as well. "Only Stephanie," he chuckled, looking at Ranger.

Once the cards had been passed around and everyone had laughed at Stephanie's unique sense of humor, Ranger stood up again and cleared his voice. "Track her down. Check the postmark, cards, paper, dust them for prints, anything you need to do. Just find her!" he ordered.

The room became quiet again as each employee was frantically working to find Stephanie.

"Postmark is Philadelphia, start searching there." Lester called out. Then Lester picked up the phone and started making calls. "Mrs. Plum, it's Lester Santos at Rangeman. Did you by any chance get a card from Stephanie?" A pause and then Lester flashed a thumbs up at Ranger. "We did too. Could I come by and take a look at it? Great, thanks. See you soon. Bye."

"Her parents also received a card. I'll check with other friends and family, too." Lester turned back to his computer and started looking up numbers.

By the end of the day, they knew that most of Stephanie's friends and family had received cards. Lester went out to take a look at all of the cards. Some people refused to hand over the card itself but let him take photos of the card and envelope.

In the end, it was a fruitless search. All of the cards were mailed from Philadelphia, but the city was far too large and too big of an airport hub to narrow down the search. Stephanie could still be anywhere. The cards were also not particularly specific. The Batman card wasn't usually available in every store, but it was a popular enough card to make it difficult to track.

Handwriting and fingerprint analysis also came up empty. It was definitely Stephanie's handwriting, but their analyst, who used to work for the FBI, didn't see any signs of distress in her writing. The ink was a common stick pen that can be bought in almost any store in the US. Fingerprinting turned up Stephanie's fingerprints, as expected, as well as Tank, Ranger and several others whom they could not identify.

Everyone was elated to learn that Stephanie was alive and well, but the wait for her return continued.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Author's note: **__Just wanted to reassure everyone that this is a Babe happily ever after but it's Cupcake friendly. I like Joe, I just don't think he's the right man for Stephanie. So he does feature as a friend but only as a friend. Ranger's going to have to really WORK for the HEA since he's screwed up with Stephanie pretty much from the beginning. So be prepared for some angst in upcoming chapters and well as, hopefully, some humor._

_Please let me know what you think!_

_**Chapter 9: Various POVs**_

_Elsewhere in Trenton…_

Joe opened his mailbox and went through the stack of stuff. Bills and a few cards, the latest Sports Illustrated. He couldn't wait for the swimsuit edition to come out soon. He walked into the house and plopped down on the couch. Bob walked over and put his shaggy orange head on Joe's leg and looked at him mournfully.

"You miss Cupcake, boy?" Bob just whined. "Me too."

Joe flipped through the mail again, tossing all the bills on the coffee table. He'd deal with those later. He noticed that one of the Christmas cards didn't have a return address and then he recognized the handwriting. Stephanie!

He ripped it open and found a picture of a little boy being pulled on a sled by a shaggy giant dog. Could have been one of Bob's distant ancestors, but that dog was gray instead of orange. He flipped open the card.

_Merry Christmas, Joe!_

_I would have sent you a case of Maalox, but you're probably not mainlining the stuff since I'm gone. Just wanted to let you know that I'm fine. I have a good job and my new apartment is much better than the last one. And no one has broken into it yet._

_Hope that you're doing well. Give Bob a hug and a kiss for me. _

_Take care,_

_Stephanie_

Well, Joe thought, at least he knew that she was alright. He felt awful about the way things had ended that night and he blamed himself for her disappearance. Even though it wasn't a police case, he'd continually searched for her. He'd taken at least a dozen vacation days so far to follow up on leads. All his leads fell through in the end. It seemed that Cupcake had learned some things after all.

Joe just shook his head. He missed her. He turned on the game to keep his mind off of Stephanie's absence.

_Meanwhile, a few blocks away…_

"Helen, isn't this Stephanie's handwriting?" Edna Mazur asked, handing over a card to her daughter, Helen Plum.

Helen examined the card. "Yes, mother, I think it is!" Helen excitedly opened the card to find a peaceful country scene covered in snow. She opened the card to find:

_Dear Mom, Dad and Grandma,_

_Merry Christmas!_

_I hope that you're all doing well. I just wanted to let you know that things are going well with me. I have a new job that I really like and no, I'm not a bounty hunter. My new apartment is really beautiful and Rex loves it. I've been reading a lot – how weird is that?_

_I'm sorry for any pain or troubled that I caused with my disappearance. I never wanted to cause any of you any pain but I simply had to get out of Trenton to evaluate my life. I don't like the way my life has turned out in a lot of ways and I'm trying to figure out how to get it back on track. I'm sorry._

_I'm not yet ready to return but maybe someday. Until then, I'll try to keep in touch._

_Love,_

_Stephanie_

"Well," Helen exclaimed. She was furious with her headstrong youngest daughter for once again making their family the target of all of the gossips in the 'Burg. Stephanie was all anyone had talked about for the last several years. First burning down the funeral home and then all the on-off stuff with Joseph and now this. How could she do that to her, her own mother?

She was an ungrateful child, not at all like her sister. At least Valerie was married with children. She was a good daughter, but Stephanie, no, not Stephanie. She did only what she wanted, she didn't think about how her selfish decisions impacted the rest of her family.

Edna Mazur, Helen's mother and Stephanie's grandmother, watched the emotions play over Helen's face. Edna thought Stephanie was a pip and that she was off on a grand adventure. She was a little jealous of Stephanie having such a dramatic life. Edna had done as she was expected and had married young and had a child, her daughter Helen. It wasn't until her husband had departed to the Bingo hall in the sky that she'd actually started to live her life the way she wanted.

Edna understood Stephanie. Stephanie was a free spirit, and she shouldn't be confined to the 'Burg. She'd always needed to be free to fly, which is why she'd broken her arm jumping off the garage room as a child. She'd been convinced that she could fly.

Helen, though, she always had both her feet on the ground. She never took risks and she never understood her youngest daughter. She'd been harping on Stephanie practically since Stephanie was born. Stephanie was a lot louder and wilder than her older sister, Valerie, and Helen constantly compared the two. Stephanie was always the loser in that competition and Edna knew that it hurt Stephanie a great deal to be treated like a failure. And Helen kept harping on Stephanie to marry that Joseph Morelli when anyone could see that Stephanie really belonged with that hot bounty hunter. That's probably why Stephanie left, to get away from her crazy mother.

Frank Plum, Stephanie's father, missed the excitement that his little girl brought to the house. Frank complained about the chaos, but in truth, he loved his daughter. He just wasn't a demonstrative man. He'd tried to talk to Helen, told her to lay off the complaints about Stephanie but that just usually sent Helen off on another rant about how selfish Stephanie was for not considering her family. Frank just couldn't get Helen to understand that perhaps she was the selfish one for expecting Stephanie to live the life her mother had chosen for her. Helen had never asked Stephanie what she wanted, she just demanded that Stephanie follow in her own footsteps.

Frank understood why his baby girl had left. Hell, he fantasized every day about running away from Helen and her crazy old coot mother. If Stephanie had told him she was leaving, odds were very good that he would have gone with her. He hated the thought of her all alone with him to call for car problems or rides. And God knew that his baby girl had lots of car problems.

_On the other side of Trenton…_

"That's fuckin' awesome, man! Fucking Stephanie Plum sent me a fucking Christmas card! How fucking cool is that?" Sally Sweet was wearing his Marilyn dress and it clashed horribly with his black curly chest hair. But he was excited to hear from his friend, Stephanie. There had been all kinds of rumors around town, first that she'd broken up with that cop and then that she'd run away with that bounty hunter dude. Now it seemed like she'd left town alone and no one know where she was.

_Near Stark Street…_

A phone rang.

"Yeah?" Lula answered.

"It's Connie. We got a card from Stephanie!"

"From the skinny white girl? About damn time if you ask me. What's she gotta say for herself, skipping out on her friends like that? 

Connie read Lula the message.

_Dear Lula, Connie & even you, Vinnie,_

_I hope that you're all doing well! And I hope that Vinnie hasn't molested any more farmyard animals. That will get you coal in your stocking for sure, Vinnie._

_I'm sorry that I've worried you. But you all know what a train wreck my life was, so hopefully you all understand why I had to leave. I just had to get out of town, I needed to reevaluate my life. I've missed you all (well, not as much you, Vinnie) and there've been so many things I've wanted to tell you! Hopefully I'll see you sometime soon._

_Merry Christmas!_

_Love,_

_Stephanie_

"Huhn," Lula muttered. "She better get her ass back home before supercop and Batman go crazy. That crazy ass girl, got two fine men like that sniffing after her and she runs away. Damn."

Lula and Connie both felt bad that Stephanie had left without talking to them but they understood. Hell, it had been coming for a while. Stephanie just seemed sadder and sadder every day. There was the stuff with the two completely hot men in her life but there was also a critical mother and a crazy grandma that made her life crazy. And tracing skips was certainly not a job for the weak hearted.

Vinnie just wanted her to get her ass back and find skips. Christ, he was bleeding money here!


	10. Chapter 10

_**Chapter 10: Stephanie's POV**_

I spent the holidays helping Tina run the inn. The holidays were a busy time in the mountains of North Carolina, and we were booked completely from the week before Christmas through the new year. During my few free moments, of course I thought about my friends and family in New Jersey, but I'm not yet ready to contact them directly. I was still struggling to deal with the pain and embarrassment.

Turned out that Emily, who had been the assistant manager before me, the girl who'd had left behind tons of books in the duplex, was really into self-help. I had read dozens of books on psychology, bad relationships and how to break out of negative habits.

I spent most of my alone time walking around in the woods by myself. It was peaceful and quiet, a far cry from my madcap existence in New Jersey. My old apartment had been like a train station with people breaking in all the time. I missed my friends, but I didn't miss rolling around in garbage to bring in naked people and other assorted miscreants.

Oh yeah, I'd also been taking a couple of online courses in psychology and deviant sociology. Since I'd spent so much working with deviants, it was interesting to learn about their psychology and sociology. I had to be really careful with writing papers though, I didn't want to slip up and mention that I had been a bounty hunter! I probably had more direct experience with deviants than anyone else in the online class but I didn't want to share too much. I knew that Ranger was probably still searching for me.

I have to admit to a bit of pride that even Ranger hadn't been able to find me. As incompetent as I'd been at times as a bounty hunter, I'd done pretty well with my disappearing act so far. I'd gone to someone that no one else would think to check on for help, I had not used my credit cards or bankcards since leaving New Jersey and I'd stayed under the radar so far.

It had been a nice five months. I hadn't rolled in the garbage once, been targeted by a homicidal stalker or been kissed senseless. Okay, so the last one wasn't a positive, but the first two definitely were. I now had a nest egg available. I'd put the money into an account under the name Stephanie Walker. Tina had gone to a friend of hers at a very local bank (okay, they have only the one branch) and had convinced her to open the account without the usual documentation. Tina had said that I was hiding from an abusive relationship and that I needed to be untraceable. I felt guilty about the abusive relationship part since neither Joe nor Ranger would ever hit me, but I also knew that they'd find me if I opened it under my real name. The friend agreed, and now I had several thousand dollars in the bank. This was the most I'd ever had in savings, and Tina continually pointed out that I earned every penny of it.

From all the reading, the online classes and the time alone, I'd come to a couple of conclusions about myself. First, my mother had told all my life that I wasn't good enough. She'd always compared me to Saint Valerie or her friend's children and I never measured up to her standard. I was the wild and crazy kid who had broken her arm trying to fly, but that didn't make me inferior to Valerie, just different.

Then there were my relationships. My first relationship, really, was with Joe. It had started when we played choo-choo when I was only six years old and it had also been destructive. I'd also done what Joe wanted, from being the tunnel to his choo-choo to giving him my virginity in Tasty Pastry to trying to live up to his expectation of a wife more recently.

I'd married The Dick because my mother loved him. He was a lawyer and my mother definitely pushed me to marry him. I'd seen him as the change to finally prove to my mother that I was a good daughter. Unfortunately, the divorce was epic and the details of his cheating were all over the 'Burg in no time flat.

Finally, there was my non-relationship with Ranger. We had a friendship for sure, which included the one night of benefits so long ago. The rest of the time we had a hot, flirty dynamic, which always turned me on. I knew that physically Ranger was attracted to me, and I knew why I was attracted to him physically. I mean, come on, the man was like sex on a stick. As Lula would say, wooo! But all of Ranger's Merry Men were hot stud muffins and I found several of the attractive. But I'd never thought about any of them in a romantic way.

So why did I stay in relationships that required me to live up to other people's expectations? Joe and my mother both had certain ideas about how I should live my life. I was trying so hard to make them happy, but I wasn't happy. Ranger didn't expect me to quit my job as a bounty hunter, and he accepted me for who I am. But he didn't want a real relationship with me. So why had I kept holding out for that to change?

I didn't really have any answers. I mostly spent my time thinking about those questions. I needed to figure out who I really was before I could answer anything else. I was afraid that I'd lose what little I had learned about myself so far if I went back to Trenton. I was afraid of what would happen when my mom, Joe or Ranger started pressuring me. I didn't want to face it yet.

So I spent the rest of the winter taking walks in the snow, reading and just thinking. These nine months were the calmest that I'd ever had.


	11. Chapter 11

_**Chapter 11: Stephanie's POV**_

My Catholic guilt, even though I'm not really Catholic anymore, was really working on me. I was worried about what my family and friends must be thinking. I'd missed them all but I wasn't yet ready to go home again. Tom Wolfe wrote that "You can't go back home to your family, back home to your childhood" and I think he was right.

Yeah, that's right. I quote Thomas Wolfe now. Like I said, lots of time for reading. Also, I'm living in the mountains of North Carolina, which is where Thomas Wolfe grew up. I've read more these last nine months than in my whole life before combined. I learned that I like reading. Who'd have thought that I, Stephanie Plum, would turn into a big reader?

Even so, despite my time spent reading, I was really missing my friends. I didn't know how to have two-way communication with them, though. The cards thing would only work for me to send messages to them. It would help me to chat with them. I read the Trenton newspaper online and kept up with the major news stories but the newspaper didn't tell me who got married, who was divorced, and all the usual gossip. I knew that Joe had worked lots of homicide cases and Rangeman had brought in lots of would-be robbers. There was no specific mention of Ranger, which I guess was good news. If he'd been hurt, there would have been a ton of stuff in the papers like when Scrog shot him.

Tina and her spy novels came up with a plan again. The next time she went to Philadelphia, I'd go with her. The part-time employees we hired for spring and summer were pretty smart, and we'd be reachable by phone the whole time. So on our last day in Philly, I'd buy a cheap pre-paid cell phone with cash and I could use it to call my family and friends. After I'd finished my calls, I'd simply throw the phone away and we'd head back to North Carolina. No one would be able to trace me.

It was a cool idea and I was getting really tired of snow-covered mountains. A city girl like me can only take so much nature time, you know? Plus I still had that lovely walk-in closet that was half empty. Yay, shopping! There also weren't a whole lot of opportunities to wear my sexy club clothes since I wasn't helping Ranger with distractions. So I needed to wear some of my pretty stuff and get my groove on at a club.

Tina planned to drive to Philly in late March and I was going with her!

The weeks took forever, but finally March 25th dawned and we loaded up Tina's Subaru and headed to Philly. We took turns driving and we made it in one exhausting day. She spent the next couple of days with her family, celebrating her mom's 60th birthday, and I spent lots of time at the mall. Ah, heaven.

I knew most everyone's phone numbers, but I was a little foggy on some of them. What? How many numbers do you truly know? I bet you're just like me, you just use your speed dial or your cell phone's phone book. So I looked up a couple of phone numbers just in case.

My tummy was full of butterflies. I felt sick and Tina had to convince me to go through with my plans and make the calls. I saw the black spots dancing in my field of vision but a couple of deep breaths pushed down the panic.

I called my parents first. My mom answered. "Hello, Plum residence."

"Hi mom."

"Stephanie? Oh my God, Stephanie!" I could hear my mom crying and the 'Burg guilt came crashing down.

"Yeah, mom. It's me."

My grandma picked up the phone. "Stephanie, is that you?"

"Hi grandma."

"Have you been dating any hotties?" She cackled.

I rolled my eyes. "No, grandma, no hotties. How about you? Got a honey yet?"

"Working on it, I'm working on it."

Silence, then my mom was back on the phone. "Stephanie, this is your mother. Where are you?"

Shit, I really didn't want to answer that. "I'm in Philadelphia now but I'm only here visiting. I'm leaving today."

"Why?" she cried.

Oh God, the guilt, it burns. I squirmed in my chair. "Mom, I need some time to figure some things out."

"You couldn't do that here?"

Sigh. "No, mom, I couldn't. It was just…" I trailed out. "I just couldn't be there. I'm sorry."

More silence. "But I wanted to see how things are doing with you and check in with you."

And more silence. Holy crap, the guilt was making me feel sick again. "We're fine." I guess mom realized that I wasn't coming home yet and that I wasn't ready to share so she started telling me all the gossip from the last nine months.

After nearly an hour, she finally wound down. I'd spent the time mostly saying "mm hmm" and "really?" while she spoke. She tried to bribe me home with pineapple upside down cake but I managed to stay strong. But we'd definitely be stopping for dessert on the drive back to North Carolina!

At the end, she told me that both Joe and Ranger were still looking for me. I was shocked when she told me that Ranger had come over for dinner several times since I'd left. Batman voluntarily ate with the crazy Plum family? Holy Gotham City.

I told her that I'd call her again as soon as I could and to please not worry about me. I was doing fine, I had a good job that didn't involve bounty hunting and I lived in a really nice apartment. Rex was doing fine. I missed them all and I loved them all.

After that conversation, I felt like I needed a couple of beers to call anyone else. After a few minutes of panic, I took a deep breath and called Mary Lou. She was ecstatic to hear from me and nearly burst my eardrum screaming once she realized it was me. I didn't know her voice could go so high!

Then I spoke to Connie and Lula at the bonds office. Luckily, Vinnie was out of town so I didn't have to listen to his snide remarks. They were both really happy to hear from me, and I told them the full story of the fight with Morelli and the non-relationship conversation with Ranger. There was a full minute of silence after I finished.

"Damn, girl," Lula said, "I guess I understand why you had to leave then."

"Yeah, thanks. Please don't tell other people about this." I wasn't above begging if necessary.

We chatted for a while longer and they caught me up on all the 'Burg gossip that my mom hadn't already covered.

"Have you called Office Hottie and Batman?" Lula wanted to know.

"Not yet, but soon." Let's save that panic attack for a few more minutes.

"They've both been apeshit looking for you, girl." Trust Lula to cut to the heart of the matter.

"I've heard."

"Don't you dare go this long without calling again! Or I'll bust a cap in your ass the next time I do see you!"

I had to laugh. If Joe Morelli with Trenton PD and Batman couldn't find me, I wasn't betting a lot of money that Lula could track me down. I promised to call again as soon as I could and we hung up.

I drank another bottle of water and dialed Joe.

"What?" he snapped into the phone.

"Well, hello to you too."

Silence. "Who is this?" he asked suspiciously.

"Who do you think it is, Joe?" More silence. This part was actually kind of fun. I was fighting the urge to giggle.

"HOLY SHIT! Stephanie? Is that you? Oh shit, where are you?"

I laughed. "Hey, Joe. Yeah, it's me. And I'm not telling you where I am."

"Cupcake, please. You don't know how worried I've been." I could hear the strain in his voice. "I even worked with Ranger to try to find you."

"That's really sweet, Joe. Thanks. I'm sorry I worried you but I just had to get out of Trenton. I just needed to be somewhere where my reputation did not precede me. I'm sorry."

"Why did you leave, Cupcake."

The hard question again. "Joe, you know why I left. I wasn't happy. It's not just about you, it's everything. I was tired of rolling in the garbage chasing skips, I was tired of fighting with you, my mom, everyone. I was tired of being the butt of every joke."

"Cupcake."

"I just had to get away, Joe. I just needed to get away."

"Are you sure everything is okay?"

"Yeah, Detective Morelli, everything is fine. Now. Or at least it's getting closer to being fine."

"When are you coming home? Bob misses you."

Smile. Ah Bob, the canine vacuum cleaner. "I don't know yet. I'm not ready to do that just yet. Please try to understand."

"I think I do, Steph. But I've missed you."

"I've missed you too, Joe. But I'm moving past all of that and I really, truly hope you are too."

The silence became strained. "I'm trying."

"That's all I can ask. I've gotta go now. I'll call again when I can, okay?"

"Cupcake, please don't go. Tell me where you're at and I'll come and we'll talk."

"Sorry, Joe. Not yet. Bye."

I could hear him talking when I hung up the phone.

Okay, only one left. I could do this. Just breathe. Okay, so breathing was not as easy as I though. Last one, you can do it.

"Yo." I felt a rush when I heard his voice.

"Yo yourself."

"Stephanie?"

"Yep."

Silence. I could almost see him trying to gain control of his emotions. "Babe, are you okay?" He didn't sound so in control.

"Yeah, Ranger, I'm fine. How are you?"

Now I knew he wasn't in control. "How do you think I am? You've been gone for NINE MONTHS!"

Eek. Angry Ranger, not good. "Please don't. You know why I needed to get away. I just reached my limit that day and I couldn't take anything more. So I did the only thing I could and just left."

"Disappeared." Still very angry. Uh oh.

"Yes, I disappeared. But I did leave notes and I did send Christmas cards." A pause. He wasn't here to kill me so I might as well ask. "Did you like your two?"

I could hear a slight smile in his voice. "Yeah. Hector really appreciated the one to the men."

At that, I did giggle. "I'm sure! I certainly enjoyed picking it out!"

"Stephanie, where are you?" Why was everyone hung up on my location? Yeesh.

"Currently, in Philadelphia. That's not where I'm living now, so please don't try to track me. I have learned a few things as a bounty hunter and I don't want to be found. Not yet."

"Babe, you've apparently learned a lot. I've had men tracking you since the moment I heard you were gone and we haven't found you yet. I'd be proud of you if you weren't hiding from me too."

I got all warm and squishy at the proud of you part. Ah, who am I kidding, I pretty much always get warm and squishy when I talk to Ranger.

"Thanks. I think."

"When are you coming back?" And there's the other hard question to answer.

I signed. "I don't know. I'm not ready to face everything yet."

"Babe, if it's about us…"

"Stop," I interrupted. "I'm not ready to discuss that with you either."

"Babe."

"Please don't make me hang up on you." I warned him. It's easy to be brave with Batman when he's miles away and doesn't know where you live!

A pause and then a sign. Lots of emotion from Ranger. "Okay."

"So, how are things?" I asked brightly.

He actually growled when I said that. I tried not to giggle, but I'm sure he heard me. Don't bats have excellent hearing or something? And he is Batman. 

"Are you laughing at me?" I could hear the disbelief in his voice.

"Yep."

"Babe."

You know, this wasn't going as bad as I thought it might. I mean, I'm sure he'll start tracking my location any moment, if he hasn't already, but I was packed up and ready to go as soon as I hung up the phone with him. I was also wearing a hat to hide my hair and sunglasses to help me blend in. With my bulky sweater, I was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to spot me unless he were right on top of me. I was going to retreat to live another day.

"Please, Stephanie. Come home, please." Oh, God, he was playing dirty with two pleases. Not fair.

"Sorry, I can't. Not yet. I may not move back ever, but definitely not yet."

"Maybe not ever?" Was that panic in Ranger's voice?

"I like where I'm living now. I have a good job that I'm actually good at, money in the bank, a nice apartment, good friends. It's really nice."

"You don't have any money in the bank under your name."

"Nope. Not under my name." Why was I pulling the tiger's tail? Eventually, I'd get eaten. Okay, don't think about Ranger eating anything on me! Makes me all tingly.

"Babe."

"Look, I know you're going to try to trace this call, but don't bother, please. It's a burn phone and I'm in a public place. You'll never be able to track me. Please don't try."

"Burn phone, babe? Been watching 'Burn Notice' again?" There was definitely humor in his voice now.

"I love Michael Weston."

"Babe." He really does use that word a lot. "Babe, I just want you to know, I do love you."

Oh, so this is what a heart attack feels like. Yeah, not fun. "I know, I know, in your own way. Unfortunately, it's not the way that I need or deserve." I continued on without giving him a chance to speak. "I gotta go now. Tell the Merry Men hi and don't get shot. Take care of yourself, Ranger. I'll talk to you again when I can. Bye."

I could hear him staying something but I jabbed the end button with enough vehemence to break a nail. Ah, crap. I hung up on him. I hung up on Batman! I was so dead if he ever saw me again, no one hangs up on him.

I turned off the phone and tossed it in the trash can at the mall. Tina and I had both been careful to only use cash for purchases and to not be seen together. I pulled out my other cell phone, my real one from North Carolina, and texted Tina that I was done. I grabbed my purse and met her at the car. We were on the road less than five minutes after I hung up on Ranger.

I told Tina about my conversations, saving Ranger for last.

"So, how do you feel about that?" she asked. I gave her the 'Burg death glare.

"Watching Dr. Phil again?"

"Yep," she answered with a grin.


	12. Chapter 12

_**Chapter 12: Ranger's POV**_

Ranger stared as his phone in disbelief. He couldn't believe that he'd actually spoken with Stephanie but that he had no new information on her whereabouts these last nine months.

He was happy to hear that she was okay and that she was doing well. She'd sound really excited about her new job and apartment. He was happy that she was happy, but he would be happier if Stephanie was happy with him instead. She could be happy living with him on the seventh floor, right? She'd lived here before, temporarily, and she'd loved his sheets, his shower gel and his housekeeper, Ella.

He also couldn't believe that she'd brushed off his confession so easily. He'd told her that he loved her, and she had just ignored it. How could she just ignore it? He's not a man to make any kind of confession, let alone one of love, easily.

He walked out of his office and handed his phone to Lester. "Stephanie just called, she's the last call."

Lester jumped to his feet. "How is she? Where is she? When is she coming home?" he demanded of Ranger.

"She's fine, she wouldn't say and she doesn't know when she'll be back yet." Ranger couldn't stand the thought that she might not ever come again for good. "She said it was a burn phone in Philadelphia and not to try to trace her, but try it anyways."

Lester just nodded and snatched the phone from Ranger's hand. "On it."

Lester and Hector were able to trace the phone call to somewhere near a huge shopping mall. _That's my babe, _Ranger thought when he heard. _She does love shopping._

Unfortunately, Stephanie was right and they couldn't trace it any farther. She'd bought the phone with cash and had only used it to call her friends and family in New Jersey. Ranger was a little angry to learn that he was her last phone call and that she'd called Joe before him.

Ranger had gone to Philadelphia himself to see if he could learn anything more about Stephanie. He'd actually spent all day in a mall showing Stephanie's picture, but to no avail. It would usually take a presidential order and a platoon of Marines to get him to a mall, but he went in the hopes that he could find something about his Babe.

His babe was good. She'd managed to not leave behind any clues. He was almost proud of her. He was definitely frustrated with her. All he could do was wait until she chose to call him again.


	13. Chapter 13

_**Chapter 13: Stephanie's POV**_

It was another two months before I contacted my friends and family again. I had a lot of things to think about after those first conversations and it took me a while to get my thoughts in order.

It has been almost a year since I'd left Trenton. It has been almost a year since the arguments and recriminations, since my heart had been broken twice by two different men in two days.

I'd spent the last year doing a lot of thinking about what I wanted. I knew now that I didn't want to go back to the old Stephanie, the inept bounty hunter who relied more on luck than skill. I didn't want to roll around in the garbage and worry about paying my rent. I didn't want to go back to disappointing my family and friends. Most of all, I didn't want to go back to dysfunctional relationships with my mom, Joe and Ranger.

But I also didn't want to carry around all of the guilt of hiding from them, worrying them. While guilt may not be something that you can see, it's certainly very heavy to drag it around.

So, I decided to go back to Trenton. I arranged to take two weeks off from the inn and that Tina would take care of Rex for me. She encouraged me to go and see everyone again and to take whatever time I needed.

I assured her that I'd return in two weeks, once I'd had a chance to chat with everyone. I needed to clear the air, to salve my conscious.

I wasn't completely sure that I wouldn't chicken out, so I didn't tell anyone that I was coming. I drove from North Carolina to Trenton, spending the night in Philly and indulging in a little retail therapy. I was pretty sure I could stay with my parents or Mary Lou, but I had enough money for a hotel room. This time, I'd planned to tell everyone about my new life as the assistant manager at an inn in North Carolina.

I pulled into Trenton about 2 pm on a Tuesday. I'd thought about it a lot, and I'd decided to start with the scariest face-to-face meeting first. So I pulled up outside of Rangeman offices. I hyperventilated a bit, touched up my makeup and gave myself a good pep talk.

"The worst that can happen is death, dismemberment or permanent exile to a third-world country, right?" Yeah, no biggie.

I finally got my breathing under control and dialed Ranger's number on my cell phone. It wasn't a burn phone, this was my real phone number in North Carolina.

"Yo."

"Yo yourself." Don't puke, don't puke, don't puke….

"Babe! How are you?"

"I'm good, Ranger. And you?"

"Where are you this time?" Definitely a bit of amusement in his voice that I'd eluded him two months ago. Amused was good. Angry was bad.

"Um… right outside of Rangeman."

"You're outside right now?"

"Yep."

Silence. I don't do well with silence. "So, are you in the office now or should we plan to meet some other time?"

"Babe. I'll be right out."

"No, that's fine. I can come up. Be nice to see the Merry Men again. See you in a minute."

I slowly got out of my CR-V, yes, the same one that I'd bought almost a year ago. It wasn't the prettiest car in the world, but it ran okay as long as you fed it oil on a regular basis. Like at least one bottle per week. It was a hungry car.

Don't puke, don't puke, don't puke. Remember to breathe.

I walked up to the reception desk. New guy I didn't recognize. "Hi, I'm here to see Ranger."

"Name?"

"Stephanie Plum." Whoa, he actually did a double take.

"Miss Plum! You can… uh… go on up!" he stammered.

I smiled and walked past him to the elevator. I took a deep breath and pressed the button for five.

Don't puke, don't puke. Breathe.

The doors opened and I was swept into a sea of black. Yummy hard bodies wrapped in skin-tight black. Yum. As soon as I walked off the elevator, Lester picked me up off my feet and spun me around. "Stephanie! I can't believe you're back!" I laughed and hugged him back. He spun me around again and gave me a big kiss on the cheek. I was laughing hard by now, feeling a little dizzy.

"Good to see you, Lester!" I gave him a kiss on the cheek. I was passed around to all the Merry Men I knew and I hugged and kissed all of them, even Hal. He blushed bright red and ducked his head. Aww, big scary Halosaurus can blush!

I finally reached Tank and he hugged me. "Missed you." He's a man of few words.

"I missed you too, Tank." I smiled.

"He missed you more." He nodded his head toward Ranger's office and I saw him leaning against the door with a half smile on his face. Oh crap.

"Tell my parents I love them if I don't come out alive." This got a smile out of Tank.

I took a deep breath, waved once more to the Merry Men and went to beard a tiger in his den.


	14. Chapter 14

_**Chapter 14: Stephanie's POV**_

"Babe."

"Hi Ranger. Long time." No response. He ushered me into his office and closed the door. Gulp.

I was looking around at his office when I felt him beside me. Before I could take a breath, I was crushed in his arms. No more breathing for me, but being held by Ranger was worth it.

He held me tight until the whole lack of oxygen thing became really problematic. "Ranger!" I squeaked.

He looked up and loosened his hold. Ah, sweet oxygen. I took in several great gulping breaths. He dropped one arm, but kept the other wrapped around my shoulder. He walked me over to the couch and I sat down. He sat down right next to me, almost on my lap. No complaints here. Wait, Stephanie, be strong! You're not here to jump back into a weird and dysfunctional relationship with freakin' Batman!

I couldn't look at him for long. His dark brown eyes were full of concern and something else. So I just looked around his office a little. Anywhere but in his eyes. Or at his biceps. They seemed even more gigantic than before.

"Babe." Aw, I loved it when he calls me babe in that soft, sexy whisper. I'm so screwed here.

I took a deep breath. Looked up and was trapped in his gaze. "Hi Ranger."

He pulled me to him and rested his forehead against mine. His eyes drifted closed and he just held me for a moment. It felt very tender and special. I was more than confused. Ranger's not really into tender and special moments. I closed my eyes too to savor the feel of his arms around me again. I breathed in his smell, mmm, Bulgari. It really should come with a warning label.

He finally leaned back and I had to as well. Damn.

"Are you back?"

"For two weeks, then I'm heading back to North Carolina." His eyes widened.

"What's in North Carolina?"

I took a deep breath and told him all about Tina and the inn. I told him about my role there as an assistant manager working with guests and travel agents. I told him that I was learning to cook and had become a pro with Microsoft Office. I told him about my awesome duplex and my long walks in the snow. I told him about my online classes and months of reading.

He just sat back and let me talk. I eventually ran out of things to say and stopped chattering.

He smiled at me, a full on, 200-watt, super rare Ranger smile. Crap, so screwed. "Proud of you, babe. Sounds nice."

I was surprised. "Yeah, it is nice. I like it there."

We sat in friendly silence for a moment. Then he asked, very softly, "Why did you leave me?" So much for the friendly silence.

I stood. He leaned back against the back of the couch and tracked me as I paced around his office. I could feel his eyes on me.

"It was just too much. The fight with Joe, then with you. Wrestling around in the trash, again. Being a big disappointment to my mom, Joe, you. Being the butt of every joke, bets at the police station about when my car would explore. I just couldn't handle anything else. So I left. It was the only option I could see left for me."

I turned to face him. His blank face was on.

"Babe, you've never been a disappointment to me. You were never the butt of my jokes. You didn't have to leave."

I knew this wouldn't be easy. "Maybe not as much of a disappointment to you, but I was to my mom and Joe. And they never hesitated to let me know when I failed and how many other people succeed. And it hurt. Never living up, never being good enough for them. It really hurt. Being a line item under entertainment."

More silence. It was freakishly hard, but I managed to not start talking again to fill the void. I literally bit my tongue. Twice.

"Did you leave because of our talk at your apartment?" Ah, crap, already to the really hard stuff. Keep it together, Stephanie. You can do this.

"That was part of it, Ranger. It was mostly the cumulative effect of everything. It wasn't just you, but I needed to get away and think about things. I needed to move away so I could move on."

His eyebrows lifted. "Did you move on, babe?"

"It's not been easy, but yeah, I think I have. I'll always care about you, but I've accepted that you're not willing to do relationships. And I'm not willing to do anything other than a relationship. So, we can just be friends like we were at first."

"Just friends," Ranger repeated.

"Yeah, chat every so often, catch up on life, send Christmas cards. You know, friends."

"What if I don't want to be just friends?"

"That's all I can offer you, Ranger." That did cause his eyebrows to shoot up. He really didn't like having his own words tossed back at him. Tough luck.

I laughed, a little bitterly, I must admit. "What, did you expect me to come here and beg you to give me a chance?"

He looked a little shocked before the blank face slammed back down.

I took another deep breath. Just say what you need to say. "Ranger, I hope we can be friends. But I can't be anything more than just friends with you."

He just stared at me. I knew he was thinking furiously. "I can smell something burning, Ranger. Whatcha thinking about?"

He smiled, a heartbreakingly sweet smile. "That's usually my line."

"Things change," I shrugged.

"Apparently." He sat quietly for a moment before standing up. "Stephanie, you leaving like that made me realize that I do care about you, that I do love you. And I was trying to hold you at arm's length to protect you. If you need a relationship, we'll try a relationship. I can't lose you again."

Oh, God, I'd have given anything to hear that a year ago. I closed my eyes and felt him move toward me. Suddenly, his arms were around me and his hands were cupping my face. His lips were on my cheek, my forehead, my nose. He kissed me gently all over my face, just holding me there in his arms like I was made out of glass.

His forehead was against mine again. He was whispering to me, calling my name. I opened my eyes and gazed into his blazing brown eyes. "Querida, te amo [Sweetheart, I love you]." Oh, man, it's so hot when he whispers in Spanish.

Then his lips are on mine in a gentle kiss. I just savored the moment, enjoy the feel of his lips on mine. As he starts to increase the pressure and pulls me tighter, I feel the passion level rise. No, this is not why I'm here!

I pull my lips away from his and turn my head. He's nuzzling my ear, whispering in Spanish. Wait, why wasn't this why I was here? It's very nice.

"No," I practically yell. I can tell I caught him off guard when he jerks away from me. I pull away and walk as far away as I can get. It took every bit of willpower I had not to just melt in his arms.

He starts to walk toward me. I hold out my hand, "No, please stop."

"Stephanie, what's wrong?" He looks really confused. I guess I can understand that. In his mind, he's given me everything I wanted. He told me loved me, he told me that he will try to have a relationship with me. Too bad it's not enough for me any more.

"Ranger, please don't. It's too late. It's…" my voice tapers off at the expression in his eyes. Definitely no blank face right now.

"What do you mean by 'too late', Stephanie?" His voice is a soft growl that cuts me to the bone.

"A year ago, that would have been enough. But I've spent the past year trying to figure out who I am, what I want in life. You say you love me, but you didn't love me enough a year ago to even try a real relationship. You say you love me that much now, but you don't even know who I am anymore."

He stood there silently and I watched as his jaw flexed. I didn't know whether it was in anger or pain, but either way, I felt terrible for whatever he felt.

Finally, he spoke again, very softly. "I do know you, babe, and I do know what you want in life. And I want to find it with you. I do love you enough, then and now."

Oh, holy crap, I felt like I had multiple personalities. One half of me was elated to hear Ranger, my superhero, admit that he loved me. Another part was sad because I didn't believe him even though I desperately wanted to.

I closed my eye for a moment.

"No, Ranger, you didn't. You walked out the door without a backwards glance. If I'd stuck around, it would have been the same old thing. I wouldn't see you for a while and then we'd pretend that it never happened. I just couldn't keep doing it. So I stopped it." I was surprised at how firm my voice was.

Ranger looked as surprised as I felt. "Babe," he said, reaching out towards me.

I leapt away. I couldn't bear for him to touch me. He just looked sad as I backed away. "No, Ranger, don't."

I took in another deep, shuddering breath. This was harder than I'd ever imagined. "You made yourself clear a year ago. I listened to what you said. I've had almost a year to think about it. I'm moving on, and you have to as well."

Then he started to look angry. Oh shit. Angry Ranger is a little scary. And a whole lot sexy. Stand firm, Steph, you know what you have to do.

"Stephanie, I've spent the last year almost out of my mind searching for you. I think my heart almost stopped when Tank told me that you were gone. I haven't slept a single night without dreaming of you. I haven't gone a single day without thinking of you. You left me, and that almost killed me." I couldn't believe the passion in his voice. For someone who usually kept things completely under wraps, he was unusually emotional today.

"I'm sorry that I worried you. I'm sorry that you haven't slept well. Really, I am. But that doesn't change anything."

He looked at me steadily. His gaze stripped me down all the way to my soul. I knew he could see my heart in my eyes, and I let him. I needed him to see how I felt.

"Stephanie," his voice broke. Holy crap, did Batman's voice just crack? "Stephanie, please. I need you."

Oh sweet baby Jesus and all the little lambs. I closed my eyes to gather my internal strength. With Ranger's beautiful brown eyes looking at my pleadingly, I couldn't think about what I needed to say.

"I'm sorry, Ranger, but it's too little, too late."

He looked at me like his heart just broke, and maybe it did. I know how that felt. I'd felt that almost a year ago myself and it's taken me this long just to get the pieces put back together. He just stared at me in silence, not believing what I just said.

I walked over to him, pulled him down slightly and kissed him on the cheek. "Stay safe, Ranger."

Then I walked out the door. Closing that door behind me was the hardest thing I've ever done in my entire life.

_**Author's note: **__Yes, I know I'm evil to leave it as a cliffhanger like this, but I need to finish revising the next couple of chapters. If I get a lot of reviews, that will be extra incentive to work on them as quickly as I can. Call it my version of the DeChooch deal._


	15. Chapter 15

_**Author's note:**__ Thanks for all of the reviews! In my view of the Plum world, Stephanie has gotten a lot stronger both mentally and physically, and poor Ranger isn't prepared for a Babe he can't fluster or intimidate as easily. But alas, Ranger is also a controlling ass at times, so the road to happily ever after won't be a smooth one!_

_When I've had Ranger or any other character speak or think in Spanish, I've put the English translation in brackets right next to it. Let me know if that doesn't work for you. It's been a long time since my college Spanish classes but the translations should be fairly accurate (at least according to my memory)._

_Please let me know what you think! You know the deal, more reviews = more chapters posted! I have through chapter 53 completed, I just need to review/ revise/ edit._

_- Angela_

_**Chapter 15: Ranger's POV**_

Ranger just stood there in shocked disbelief. He had just bared his soul, poured out his heart to Stephanie, and she had left. All this time, he'd planned to give her what she wanted. He was prepared to try having a real relationship for the first time in his life. He wasn't prepared to accept that what she wanted had changed, that she didn't want him anymore.

"Merde [Shit]!" Ranger snarled. This couldn't have happened. It had to have been a dream, a really, really bad dream.

He sat back down on his couch. He was still in shock. She'd come back, finally, after almost a year. Stephanie had come back and she'd come to see him. She'd told him where she'd been, what she had been doing. She was so excited and proud to describe her life these past eleven months. He'd been happy for her, happy that she'd found something that made her feel useful and valuable. The whole time she was talking, he just watched her face. God, he loved how expressive her face was! He loved the way her beautiful blue eyes flashed, the way her lips smiled even while she was chattering a mile a minute.

She'd looked beautiful, so amazingly beautiful. She'd had on a blue shirt that highlighted her gorgeous blue eyes. She'd toned down her makeup some, and she'd looked so naturally beautiful. And the short gray skirt. Madre de Dios [Mother of God] but that skirt made her long legs look so unbelievably sexy. And those shoes. Where did she find shoes that made her legs and ass look so amazing?

His heart had stopped several times today. First, when he realized that she was on the phone. The second time was when she said she was outside and wanted to talk to him. The third time was when he saw her for the first time in almost a year. She'd also taken his breath away with her beauty then. Then when she'd said that she'd moved on. She couldn't move on, not unless it was with him by her side. The last time was when she said it was too little too late. It had felt like a punch to the gut when she'd thrown his own words "this is all I can offer you" back at him. He wasn't sure that he'd ever feel his heart beat again after that. She'd wrapped her small hands around his arm and pulled him down. She brushed a gently kiss on his cheek and told him to stay safe.

Madre de Dios [Mother of God], how could he ever be safe now that she'd crushed his heart?

He sat in stunned silence, replaying the whole thing in his brain. He had an excellent memory, a requirement in his line of work, and he could remember her every word, her every movement.

It was torture, pure and simple, far worse torture than he'd ever experienced at the hands of any enemy.

He heard a knock at his door but he didn't care. He just ignored it, trying to determine what went wrong. Why had she left him? Again.

Finally, the door opened and Tank walked in the room.

Ranger heard the door close, heard Tank's gigantic feet walking across the room.

"You okay, man?" Shit, pity in Tank's voice, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

Ranger looked up and met Tank's eyes. Tank had known Ranger for many years, but he'd never seen that kind of pain in his friend's eyes. He hoped that he'd never see that kind of pain in anyone's eyes every again.

"Man, are you okay?" Tank repeated. Still no answer.

Time for a new tactic. "What happened?"

Ranger just stared at him. Tank shook him slightly. "Ranger." No response. "Carlos." No response. "Sergeant Manoso, what happened?" he bellowed.

That snapped him out of it. Ranger jumped up and snapped to military attention without thinking, responding to the military title.

Ranger shook his head slightly and relaxed his posture. "She said it was too late. I told her I loved her, that I needed her, and she said it was too little, too late." Ranger sat back down with a thud.

Oh, shit. Ranger had finally managed to pull his head out of his ass far enough to admit that he loved Stephanie, and she told him it was too late. The criminals of Trenton, New Jersey, better be careful tonight, because Ranger would be pissed and ready to tear people apart with his bare hands soon.

"Start from the beginning," Tank ordered.

Ranger started talking but Tank was pretty sure that he wasn't even really aware that Tank was in the room. It was really eerie.

"She told me about her new job and her new apartment. She loves it. She feels challenged and like she's important. It's some inn down in North Carolina. She's living in North Carolina now. Then she told me that she'd spent a lot of time reading and thinking and figuring things out. That she's not the same person she was a year ago. That she wanted to be just friends with me."

Ranger took a breath and continued. "She said that she'd moved on and that I needed to move on too." He looked at Tank. "How the hell am I supposed to do that?"

Tank just shrugged. He had no answers for his friend.

Ranger continued. "She said that she listened to what I'd said a year ago and that she realized that we just wanted different things. That she wanted a relationship and that I don't."

He took a deep breath. Shit, this was hard. "I told her I loved her and that I'd try a relationship if that was what she needed. I told her that I needed her." A momentary pause while Ranger tried to wrestle his emotions into some kind of control. "She said that she'd have loved to have heard me say that a year ago but that it's too late now. She's different now, she's moved on. She told me she was sorry. It's too little, too late. She told me to stay safe and she kissed me on the cheek. Then she walked out of my life. Again."

"Damn," was all Tank could think of to say.


	16. Chapter 16

_**Chapter 16: Stephanie's POV**_

I walked through the Rangeman command center, struggling mightily to keep my emotions in check and the tears from rolling down my cheeks. That was the hardest thing I have ever done. It had been easier to break up with Joe, easier seeing The Dick cheating with that skank, Joyce. Anything would be easier than breaking Ranger's heart.

Lester and the guys crowded around me. "Hey, beautiful, when are we going to see you again?"

I tried to smile at Lester but I am pretty sure that I only managed a grimace. "I don't know. I'll call you, okay? We'll talk later."

I punched the button for the elevator but it wasn't coming. It was on the first floor and had to make its way up. Hurry, damn it. Too slow.

I pushed open the door to the stairs and heard gasps of shock behind me. I never took the stairs unless life or limb was at risk. And even then I'd usually wait for the elevator. I ran down the five flights of stairs as fast as I could go in my cute new high heels and tight pencil skirt. I felt like the walls were closing in on me. I needed to be in my car before I fell apart.

I heard steps racing after me. I burst out the door and ran towards my CR-V. Lester caught me before I got the door open. Damn those long legs and cardiovascular endurance of his.

"Stephanie, what's wrong? What happened?" He focused on my eyes and I just lost it. I collapsed against his chest with a sob, holding onto him like he was my only lifeline. I actually felt Lester shaking too, I guess I was shaking hard enough to move both of us.

After a minute, the panic returned. I had to get away from Ranger. I had to leave. NOW.

"Please, Lester, I have to go!" I was in a panic, trying to open my car door with the key to my duplex.

"Beautiful, you can't drive like this." He took the keys from my shaking hands. I turned my tearstained face toward him and I begged.

"Please," I whispered. "Please, I have to go."

Lester scooped me up in his arms and walked around to the passenger side of the car. He sat me down and leaned me against the side of my CR-V. I was shaking too much to stand without help. He unlocked the door and gently pushed me into the seat. He reached around and fastened my seat belt. Then he walked around, unlocked the driver's side door and got in.

"Where're we going?" he asked as he fastened his seatbelt. He started the car and turned to look at me. "Stephanie, where to?"

"Anywhere but here," I whispered.

He nodded, put the car in gear and drove way. I'm not sure how long we drove or where we went. I could only see Ranger's stricken face in my mind and I was being tortured by it.

Lester pulled to a stop in front of a cute brick house. There was a basketball goal attached above the garage doors. It was plain, but cute. Could use a little landscaping, maybe a few evergreen bushes. I'd helped with landscaping and planting at the inn, and I'd learned that I had a talent for landscape design. I couldn't grow anything to save my life, but I could make it all look pretty provided someone else had the green thumb.

Lester turned off the car and got out. He took keys out of his pocket and opened the front door. He came back and opened my car door. He reached across and unfastened my seat belt and pulled me out of the seat. He picked me up in his arms and started walking towards the door.

"I can walk," I whispered. I started to wiggle in his arms.

"Shhh," he whispered as he kissed my forehead. I ceased struggling.

He took me into the house and he walked through a lovely living room decorated in earth tones. He turned sideways to carry me down a hall and he pushed open a door with his foot. He laid me down on a soft bed with a sage green bedspread. I was still in shock. Where was I?

He returned a few minutes later with a roll of toilet paper and a bottle of water.

He handed me the roll of toilet paper with a shrug. "Sorry, I don't have any Kleenex."

Then he twisted the cap off the bottle of water and handed it to me. "Drink," he ordered. I was confused, but I obeyed, drinking almost the entire bottle.

While I was drinking the water, Lester slid my heels off my feet. He pulled a blanket up from the bottom of the bed and pulled it up and over me. He laid down beside me and pulled me into his arms. I felt the tears start again as he pulled me close and slowly rubbed my back. The next thing I knew, I was sobbing uncontrollably.

I don't know how long I cried. The next thing I remembered was Lester snoring. I must have fallen asleep and clearly he had too. I pushed myself up off Lester's chest and looked around. It was a cute room, in desert earth tones of rusty red, sage green and sandy beige. It felt very peaceful and relaxing. Not at all what I'd imagined for Lester, if I'd ever have tried to imagine Lester's bedroom.

I looked back over to see Lester's green eyes watch me solemnly. He looked at me with such concern that it made my chest hurt.

"Hi," I said. I was blushing, feeling incredibly awkward. I'd just soaked his shirt with my tears and other bodily fluids that weren't so attractive. Okay, I'll say it. I'd slimed him with snot like he was a Ghostbuster and I was Slimer. Not one of my finest moments.

"Steph, can you tell me what happened?" His voice was so gentle and sweet. I didn't know what to say, so I didn't say anything. Big switch from the old Stephanie, right? Usually I would chatter just to fill the silence, but 11 months had changed a lot. The whole not filling the silence thing was an ongoing struggle. And a current one as Lester gazed at me.

"What did Ranger say? Did he hurt you?" I still didn't know what to say. "If he hurt you, I'll hurt him." There was sincerity in his voice and in his eyes. Aww, he was so sweet trying to protect me.

"Just the opposite, I'm afraid." Now Lester looked confused. He sat up and pulled me up against him. He wrapped one arm around my shoulder and tucked the blanket around my lap with his other hand.

"I hurt Ranger this time," I admitted.

"How?"

I really didn't want to drag Lester into all of this. Like I said, Angry Ranger is Scary Ranger and I didn't want to subject Lester to that. He must have read my thoughts. Have I mentioned how much I hate that I can't hide my emotions?

"Beautiful, he's my cousin and my boss, but you're my friend. Tell me what happened. Please." I am such a sucker for big strong guys saying please. Damn.

I took a deep breath and spilled the whole story. Why I'd left a year ago, why I was back, why I'd come to see Ranger first. Lester never interrupted; he just kept rubbing my arm gently. I went through almost the entire roll of toilet paper by the time I finished. It looked like we had been surprised by a freak snowstorm with snow drifts of toilet paper on the bed. I sounded like a lost goose.

Telling the whole story zapped me of all of my energy. I collapsed back against Lester and the headboard. I felt Lester slide his arm from around me and get up off the bed. Great, now he hates me too. He pushed the piles of toilet paper into the floor and slid his arms under my shoulders and my knees. Was he kicking me out? He gently lifted me and moved me down until I was lying flat, then he laid me back onto the bed. He pulled the blanket up around me and tucked me in like I was a child. Then he brushed his hands over my eyes and closed my eyelids.

"Shh, rest querida [sweetheart]. We'll talk more once you've had a chance to rest." The light turned off and I felt Lester lie down beside me again, one warm arm across my stomach. I drifted into an exhausted sleep, comforted by the fact that at least one person still liked me.


	17. Chapter 17

_**Chapter 17: Lester & Tank's POV**_

Once Lester was sure that Stephanie was sleeping, he slowly and gently got up from the bed. She was still making little hiccupping sounds in her sleep, leftover remnants from sobbing so hard.

He pulled out his cell phone and call Tank.

"Yo."

"Yo, it's Santos."

"Where did you go?"

"Steph completely lost it. I brought her to my house so she could calm down. She finally fell asleep after crying a lot, a whole lot."

"She tell you what happened?"

"Yeah, she said that she'd left a year ago after getting fed up with everything. Disappointing her mom, rolling in crap chasing skips, fights with the cop and Ranger saying shit about relationships. That she's different now and it's too late for anything." Lester's voice sounded pissed, especially when talking about Ranger.

"Shit." Tank was a man of few words.

"Yeah." A pause. "How's Ranger?"

"Not much better than Steph. He was practically catatonic, man. Creepy." Tank's voice reflected his concern for his friend.

Lester rubbed his hand over his face. "So what do we do?"

There were a few moments of silence as the two highly trained military tactical planners considered and rejected possibilities. They could put together a plan to free hostages from armed insurgents in a matter of minutes, but they couldn't figure out how to fix this problem.

As the silence drug on, Lester finally sighed. "Guess there's not much we can do short of locking them in a room together. And we'd would have to go in the wind to avoid both of them killing us once they got out. Gotta let them work it out, I guess."

"Yeah."

"Okay, I'll stay with Steph here until she's safe to go home or whatever. You try to keep Ranger from killing anyone or coming over here. I don't think Steph could handle seeing him again now. I'll call you with updates as needed and you do the same."

"Roger. Out." Click. Tank's really not a man of many words.

Lester wandered through the house, straightening up as he went. Looked like Steph would be with him for at least a day, maybe more. He'd take the couch tonight if she seemed okay, or he'd sleep in his sleeping bag on the floor in the bedroom if she was still that upset. No way in hell was he sleeping in the same bed as Stephanie. Ranger would kill him for even thinking about it.

He glanced at his clock and saw that it was after 6 pm. He knew from partnering Stephanie in the past that her stomach was a force of nature when empty, so he went into the kitchen and called for pizza delivery. It wouldn't be as good as Pino's or Shorty's, but he wasn't about to leave her to go pick it up.

It would take about an hour for the two pizzas he ordered to arrive since it was their busy dinner rush, so he went outside and grabbed a couple of the suitcases and bags in the back of Stephanie's CR-V. Having grown up with lots of sisters, Lester knew that she would feel better if she could shower and change into clean clothes.

When there was about 30 minutes left until the food would hopefully arrive, Lester walked in and gently shook Stephanie's shoulder.

"Stephanie. Stephanie. Wake up, Beautiful."


	18. Chapter 18

_**Chapter 18: Stephanie's POV**_

"Go away," I mumbled. I was nice and cozy and sleeping, and I had no intention of waking up yet.

"Come on, wake up, Beautiful. Food's coming." Hmm. Food. Food is also good. I'd been too nervous to eat lunch and breakfast seemed forever ago.

I flopped over on my back and pried open my eyelids. They felt like sandpaper. Lester and sitting over me, smiling at my grumpy mood. I smiled back at him and stretched like a cat.

He leaned over and kissed me on the forehead and then pulled me up so I was sitting. "Do you want to take a shower and get cleaned up, Beautiful?"

Shower? Clean up? Heck yeah, I felt like roadkill. I nodded. Lester helped me stand up and I stared in horror at my reflection in the mirror over his dresser. Bride of Frankenstein hair and makeup smeared all over the place. Eek!

Lester just laughed at the look of horror on my face and he gave me a hug. I buried my head into his shoulder to avoid looking at the train wreck that was my reflection. He walked me over to the attached bathroom and gently pushed me in it. He'd already set out towels for me and he'd brought my hair and makeup stuff in from the CR-V. God bless this man. I'm going to nominate him for a sainthood once I got home. He has just surpassed Tank as my favorite Merry Man.

He just grinned at me and handed me a gigantic black robe.

"I brought in a couple of suitcases earlier too. You can go ahead and jump in the shower, Beautiful, and I'll leave them in the bedroom. You can get dressed once you're ready."

He pulled the bathroom closed and I heard him walk away. I was using makeup removal wipes to try to remove my raccoon eyes when I heard him in the bedroom again. Then the bedroom door closed. Guess he'd left my clothes.

I stripped off my wrinkled clothes and stepped into Lester's shower. It felt wonderful. I just stood there and let the hot water sooth my tortured soul. The hot water relaxed my tired muscles and I scrubbed away all traces of my tears.

After several long minutes, I finally turned off the water and toweled dry. I wrapped my hair in a towel and shrugged into the mammoth black robe. I was using the hair dryer when I heard a knock on the door. I turned if off. "You doing okay in there, Beautiful?" Lester asked.

"Yeah," I croaked. My throat was sore from crying so much.

Lester just laughed. "Pizza's here when you're done." My stomach gave an enthusiastic growl as a reply and Lester laughed harder.

I hurriedly finished my hair and just slathered some tinted moisturizer on my face. He'd seen me crying like a baby, seeing me without full makeup wouldn't scare him. Much. I shimmied into jeans and a t-shirt and then followed my nose to the kitchen.

I stop and stared. He'd ordered two pizzas, one the way I like it, and he had also ordered a two-liter of Diet Coke. He'd poured me a glass already and had set out napkins next to plates. I really loved this man, he's a good friend.

We ate together in silence, but it was a good silence. I'd eaten half my pizza and drunk most of the Diet Coke. What? I was hungry and I must have been dehydrated from crying buckets of tears. I finally pushed back my plate and leaned back in my chair.

Lester just watched me but didn't say anything. He smiled at me and I smiled back. He closed the pizza boxes and put them in the fridge and cleaned up the table. I'd never seen a domestic side to a Merry Man. Once everything was cleaned up, he sat back down and looked at me.

Finally, I looked back at him. "So," I said. It was all I could come up with. I'm such a scintillating conversationalist.

"Beautiful, I'm here if you need me. If you want to talk, we'll talk. If you don't want to talk, we'll just hang out. But I'm not letting you leave tonight, I don't think you're ready to be on your own yet."

His kindness made me want to cry again. Crap. I just nodded and looked at my hands clasped together in my lap.

Lester stood up and grabbed my hands in his. He pulled me up so I was standing and pulled me closer. He tucked my head into his shoulder and he rested his chin on the top of my head. We stood with our arms wrapped around each other for several minutes. I finally stepped back and Lester smiled at me. He really was very sweet and he knew to feed me after a traumatic day. He reminded me a little of Tina. Hmm. Lester and Tina. They would be really cute together. Something to think about.


	19. Chapter 19

_**Chapter 19: Stephanie's POV**_

"So, are you seeing anybody?" I burst out laughing when Lester's eyes nearly bugged out of his head like a cartoon character.

"Um…" he muttered with confusion on his face. "You're beautiful and great and all, but Ranger would… um…"

Oh holy crap, he thought I was hitting on him! No wonder he looked scared. Ranger would probably break every bone in his body, cousin or not, if I hooked up with Lester right now. Not sure what Ranger would do to my body. Okay, Stephanie, no thinking about your body and Ranger. Nope, not going to happen again.

That little lecture didn't stop the tingling that had started after thinking about what Ranger might do to my body. Snap out of it!

"No, no, no! I meant that I have a friend who I think would be good for you." Did he have to look so relieved? It was almost insulting that the thought of dating me put him in such a panic.

"That depends, beautiful. Does she look like you?" he mock leered at me.

I rolled my eyes. Typical male. "Actually, yes. We're usually mistaken for sisters, or at least cousins."

That got his interest. I knew he thought I was cute from all the times he'd flirted with me and all the wolf whistles when I did a distraction job.

"I know you're a player and all, Lester, but if you start dating Tina and you hurt her, Ranger won't be the only person you'll have to fear. She will kick you ass into the next year and I'll help her." He just smirked at the idea of two girls kicking his ass. Huh. Maybe I should tell him that Tina and I have been kickboxing three times a week for the last 10 months? Nah, maybe it would be better as a surprise.

"Next time we're both in Trenton, maybe we could hang out."

Lester looked confused again. So cute to see Mr. Muscles look confused. "What do you mean by next time? Aren't you back now?

Oh yeah, I hadn't told everyone this was just a visit. "No, actually I'm just here for a couple of weeks. Then I'm heading back to North Carolina."

That surprised him. His eyes widened and his eyebrows shot up his forehead. "So when are you moving back for good?"

"I don't know. Not yet. I like my life in North Carolina. I haven't rolled in garbage, been shot at or been stalked since I left. I still have the same car that I did when I left a year ago, it hasn't exploded or anything. So maybe it wasn't me that was unlucky, maybe it was just me being in New Jersey."

"You're still on the same car? That must be a record!"

Well, he didn't have to sound quite so shocked. I just stuck my tongue out at him.

"I should probably get ready to go." I stood.

He jumped up. "Nope. I don't think you're in any condition to leave just yet."

"Lester, I'm fine. I'm sorry for going all basketcase on you earlier, but it has been a pretty exhausting and emotional day."

"Which is why you're staying here tonight." His arms were crossed over his chest and his faced was set in stone. See, this is one thing I've not missed while I was gone. No one tried to tell me what I could or could not do.

I rolled my eyes. He was just trying to protect me and I was feeling pretty tired. I'd either have to stay in a hotel tonight or I'd be bombarded by questions from my family or friends if I wanted to stay with them. All things considered, maybe putting off more emotional reunions until tomorrow wasn't a bad idea.

I blew out a breath. "Okay, fine. I'll stay tonight. Thank you for the offer." 

Lester looked shocked that I hadn't put up more of a fight. The old Stephanie would have argued or found a way to sneak out behind Lester's back. The new Stephanie usually thought about things before making a decision. Not always, but it something I was working on.

"So whatcha wanna do tonight, big boy?" I asked with fluttering lashes.

He got that deer in a headlight look again and I burst out laughing. I'd missed messing around with my friends. I'd missed my friends, period.

He picked me up and threw me over his shoulder and I shrieked. "Put me down you caveman!"

He chuckled and smacked my butt. "You offered, sweetheart."

I started wiggling like crazy and beating his butt with my fists. "It was a joke, you dweeb!"

He tossed me down on his couch and started rubbing his tush. "You hit me pretty hard, Beautiful."

"Aww, want me to kiss your boo-boo and make it all better?" I puckered up. He got a look on his face like he was considering it so I threw a pillow at him.

He laughed and sat down next to me. We spent the next few hours playing Guitar Hero and Grand Theft Auto. It was a lot of fun and Lester caught me up on the antics of the other Merry Men. Tank and Lula were dating again. Bobby was seeing a new girl but he'd refused to subject her to any of the other guys yet. Smart man, that Bobby. Lester was very careful to avoid mentioning Ranger and I was grateful for his discretion. I couldn't take discussing Ranger any more.

Finally, I was almost asleep while Lester was playing Aerosmith songs with his Guitar Hero. He chuckled and shook me softly. I sat up in alarm. "Whatsit? Who?"

He laughed and told me to go to bed. I hugged him and thanked him for the fun evening. He kissed me on the forehead and pushed me towards the bedroom.

"Hey, Lester?" I turned around.

"Yeah, Beautiful?"

"What time are you getting up in the morning?"

"I usually go for a run around 6:30. Why?"

"Could I join you?" Lester walked over and put his hand to my forehead. Ha ha, such a comedian.

"You're volunteering to go running? Doesn't feel like you have a fever but maybe I should call Bobby just in case."

I just stuck my tongue out at him and batted his hand away. "Very funny. See you in the morning."

I got ready for bed and crawled into the bed. Not as comfy as Ranger's bed or mine back in North Carolina, but it would do. Stop thinking of Ranger in bed! Stop it!

I set my cell phone alarm for 6:15 and pulled the blankets up over my head. It took a long while of tossing and turning, but I did finally fall asleep. I dreamed of the look on Ranger's face over and over again.


	20. Chapter 20

_**Chapter 20: Stephanie's POV**_

I stuck one arm out from my warm and cozy nest. Stupid alarm. Shut up! Wait, where am I?

A moment of panic. Oh yeah, Lester's house. Now I remember. That also made me remember the look on Ranger's face when I walked out yesterday. Part of me, okay most of me, was sad that I'd hurt him. A little part of me was angry that he'd really thought that a few words and kisses would make me forget everything. And a small part of me gloated that he finally felt the way I did almost a year ago. Yeah, not so proud of that last part but it was there. Just human nature, I guess.

I tossed back the blankets and rushed into the bathroom. I took care of business and pulled my hair back into a ponytail. I hurriedly dress in running shorts and a tank top over a sports bra. I shoved my feet into my shoes and dashed out the door. And crashed into Lester.

"Oomph!" Wow, his body was almost as hard as Ranger's. Okay, don't go there.

His arms steadied me. "You okay?" I nodded.

"I didn't think you'd actually be up and ready to run." He shook his head in amazement.

"A lot of things have changed for me over the last year, Lester. I run now, a couple of times a week. I spent a lot of time thinking about why I was so bad as a bounty hunter and a lot of it came down to my not having the physical skills. I couldn't run worth a damn and I pretty much relied on tripping people or knees to the groin to bring down skips."

He looked a little green at the knees to the groin part. It was true, though. I could still fit into low-rise jeans and not look too bad but I definitely wasn't in any kind of shape. I'd never be like Ranger or Lester and spend all my time training, but I needed to be able to defend myself. It was just something important to me, that I prove to myself that I wasn't completely incompetent.

He nodded and I followed him out the front door. I saw Ranger's black Porsche sitting several houses down the block. He must have sat there watching me most of the night. That pissed me off a little. Why would he watch me when I told him we could only be friends? Fine, if he wants to watch, let's give him a little show to enjoy.

So I stretched low to the ground with my arms clasped behind my back. I made sure to keep my butt up in the air. In those little running shorts, not much was left to the imagination. Then I put one hand on Lester's shoulder to keep my balance and pulled one leg up behind me to stretch my hamstring. Then I pulled the leg straight up beside me so that it was pointing straight up and my knee was next to my face. Then I switched and did the other side.

I looked over to see Lester's mouth hanging open and I think his running shorts were a bit tighter than they were before. Heh. Might make it easier for me to keep up with him. Sometimes I'm just evil.

I flashed Lester a grin and took off. A few seconds later, I heard a muffled curse that sounded like "hot damn" and heard his footsteps behind me.

"What was that?" he asked.

I looked over my shoulder and raised a brow. "Stretching," I replied as innocently as possible. Then I looked ahead to hide my grin.

We ran in silence for about 45 minutes and then we got back to Lester's house. Ranger's car was still there. Okay then, time for my curtain call. I plopped down on Lester's driveway and started stretching. I spread my legs as far apart as they would go, which is pretty damn far since I'd spent almost a year running, stretching and kickboxing, and twisted to stretch my torso. Then I leaned forward and pulled on the toe of each shoe to stretch out my calf muscles. Then I jumped up and bent over at the waist with my butt in the air again.

I was practically mooning Ranger. I should probably be scared about taunting a tiger but I was pretty pissed. He'd hurt me badly and I wanted to prove to him that I was different. Old Stephanie only ran when absolutely necessary. New Stephanie doesn't love running, but I do love feeling strong and capable.

Lester kept his mouth closed this time but the look on his face was still priceless. Go me. He shot a quick glance at the parked Porsche and then ran to the front door.

I followed him into the house and quickly showered and dressed. I packed up all my bags and made the bed. I didn't know what he wanted me to do with the linens so I just left them there. I grabbed my bags and took them into the living room. Lester had already made coffee and he handed me a cup.

Oh my God, this is good coffee. I moaned a little at the first taste of the rich, smooth liquid. Lester just stared at me. What, I like my coffee and I still hadn't been able to stop moaning over food. So sue me. It's a quirk.

"Thanks again for everything yesterday. It really meant a lot to me to have a friend around. I really have missed you." I hugged Lester.

He hugged me back and ruffled my curls. Bastard, it took a while to get them looking good. I just rolled my eyes.

"No problem, Beautiful. Will I see you again before you leave?" he asked.

I smiled. "I'd like that." I grabbed a pen and wrote down my cell phone number on a napkin. "Here's my number, give me a call. I don't think I should call you at Rangeman."

"You'll have to talk to him again at some point, Beautiful."

"Perhaps," I answered with a half smile. Ranger wasn't the only one who could be mysterious.

I finished my coffee, put the cup in the sink and kissed Lester on the cheek. Then I grabbed my stuff and headed out to the CR-V. I looked up the street and saw that Ranger was gone. Yes! I won! I did a little happy dance and then loaded up everything and backed out of Lester's driveway. I wasn't exactly sure where I was going but I wasn't about to walk back in and ask for directions. I'd grown up in Trenton and I'd figure it out eventually. Next up was my parents' house.

_**Author's note**__: Okay so it's a little bit evil of Stephanie to taunt Ranger like this since we know that have enough chemistry together to start a nuclear reaction. But this is actually how I've always dealt with break ups or romantic disappointments. Not the running part, but doing my hair and makeup and putting on my sexiest undies and my cutest clothes just in case I run into the ass who hurt me. Then I run into the jerk and I just smile and wave and flirt for all I'm worth with the nearest attractive male. It's been very effective on multiple occasions, so I thought I'd let Steph borrow my strategy for a little while. The next chapter is Ranger's reaction to it. _


	21. Chapter 21

_**Chapter 21: Ranger's POV**_

It had taken Ranger a long time to process everything Stephanie had said. First, he'd been angry. He was pissed that she refused to accept his apology for what had happened before and had left him, again. He'd beaten the shit out of the punching bag in the gym and had sparred with Tank and three other guys, at once, for over an hour. Four on one odds were pretty good given his rage. Now he was sore and his anger was giving way to pain.

If this was how Stephanie had felt a year ago, then he understood why she had left. It felt like his heart had been carved out of his chest with a spoon. It was even hard to breath when he thought about the look in her eyes when she'd said it was too little, too late.

By the time that he'd finally calmed down, he asked Tank where Stephanie was at. Tank looked at Ranger for a moment before answering.

"Lester took her to his house. She was too upset to drive."

_Well,_ Ranger though, _at least I wasn't the only one upset._ But the thought of causing Stephanie any more pain increased his own pain. Shit.

"She safe?"

"Yes." Tank never brought home elementary school report cards with the note that he talked too much in class.

"What happened?" Ranger asked.

"She cried for a while and then slept. Ate pizza and played video games. Went to bed."

Ranger thought about that for a moment. Usually he wouldn't trust Lester with any halfway good-looking woman in his house but this was Stephanie they were talking about. Lester knew that he'd kill him if he so much as laid a hand on her.

Ranger nodded and thought for a minute. "I'll be offline."

Tank just shook his head. He knew Ranger would go sit outside of Lester's house and he knew it wouldn't end well. But there was nothing he could do unless he wanted to fight Ranger again, and he didn't think his ribs could take another round of sparring tonight.

Ranger went up to his apartment on the seventh floor to shower and change. He quickly ate the food Ella had left for him and then he grabbed the keys to his Porsche.

He drove to Lester's house and sat outside. He'd be willing to bed that Stephanie would try to sneak out at some point in the night and he wanted to be there to protect her if she did. He settled into his zone and was surprised when dawn broke and Stephanie had still not left. He was downright shocked when he saw her follow Lester out the front door dressed in a skintight tank top and running shorts that were little more than boy short panties.

His hands tightened on the steering wheel when he saw her stretching. Madre de Dios [Mother of God] but she looked beautiful and sleek. She'd always been beautiful and sexy but he could see new muscle definition now that he'd never seen on Stephanie before. His jaw dropped just like Lester's when she pulled one leg over her head. Little Ranger sat up and took notice of her new flexibility. _Down boy_, he thought.

He was breathing heavily and about to snap the steering wheel in half when she flashed a beautiful smile at Lester and took off running. She ran like she was born to it, with a fluid grace that she'd never had before when he'd dragged her out running with him.

He saw Lester shake his head and take off after her. Lester was running a little funny but Ranger couldn't blame his cousin. Seeing Stephanie stretch and move like that would make a dead man horny.

He'd finally gotten himself back under control when he saw them running back towards Lester's house. He'd have to have a little chat with Lester about watching Stephanie's ass move under those tiny shorts. A dozen gunmen could have been standing there and Lester would have never noticed them since his attention was so focused on Stephanie's backside.

Ranger cursed under his breath when he saw Stephanie fold to the ground. His hand was to the door handle when he realized that she hadn't fallen but was stretching. Her newfound flexibility shocked him and he had to fight to keep his mind from imagining all the ways that he could help her stretch.

"Shit," he muttered aloud, his dark eyes darkening with passion.

Just as he was about to jump out and beat the shit out of Lester for staring at Stephanie's barely covered assets, he saw his cousin gulp and shoot a panicked glance at his car. Then Lester almost tripped over his own feet as he rushed to the front door. Ranger's temperature went up yet another a notch when he saw Stephanie pull herself up with only her ab and leg muscles, stick her ass in the air to stretch and sashay to the door. Damn, but the movement of her hips was magical.

Once the front door closed, he dropped his head against the steering wheel. She was going to be the death of him, but oh, what a way to go. He couldn't take any more. If she came out looking all sexy again he'd jump out and throw her into his car. Then he'd lock her in the Batgave and spend the rest of his life making it up to her.

He started the car and drove away, hotter than he had been in almost a year.


	22. Chapter 22

_Author's note: Sorry for the slow posting. Real life intrudes at times! _

_Let me know what you think! I'm shooting for humor for much of this fic, so please let me know what worked and/or what wasn't so funny. Constructive feedback greatly appreciated. _

_**Chapter 22: Stephanie's POV**_

I eventually made my way out of Lester's neighborhood. I'd not paid any attention when he'd brought me there, so it took a while to figure out where I was but I managed. I drove slowly through Trenton, taking in all of the changes to my hometown. Most things were the same, but there were differences. Some stores had closed while new ones had opened in their place. Tasty Pasty was still there, thank God, as was Pino's. I was tempted to stop by the Tasty Pastry for a Boston cream donut but I knew how the 'Burg grapevine worked. Everyone in Trenton would know I was back before I even finished my first donut. Maybe late.

I drove to the 'Burg and drove by Joe's house. There were no cars parked in the driveway so I assumed he was already at work. At least Bob hadn't managed to completely destroy the house yet. Oh Bob. I missed Bob, canine vacuum that he is.

I drove to my parents' house and sat outside for a few minutes to muster my courage. Dad's cab was still parked out front so I guess he hadn't left to pick up any fares yet. I took a deep breath and smoothed down my hair before getting out.

I had gotten to the bottom of the stairs leading to the front door when my grandmother opened the door. 'Burg mothers have some sort of radar that alerts them when offspring is nearby. That's the only thing that could explain how they knew I was there before I knocked on the door.

"Stephanie? Is that you?" grandma asked.

I smiled. She was wearing a lavender warm up suit and her hair was frosted a light lilac. She was still tiny and bony, but I'd missed her so much.

"Hi grandma!" I hugged her.

"Stephanie!" I was almost tackled by my mother. We weren't usually a demonstrative family, but I guess a nearly year long absence was worthy of a few hugs. "Come in, I was just finishing breakfast."

I followed my mother and grandmother into the house and I was slammed with a wave of nostalgia. I remembered trying to fly off the roof when I thought I was Wonder Woman. I thought about all the times I'd snuck out the bathroom window to shimmy down the tree when I was a rebellious teenage. I remembered family dinners with Joe and the chaos that always ensued. I remembered grandma shooting a roast chicken on the table.

All of a sudden, I really missed living in Trenton.

I walked into the living room and dad lowered his newspaper long enough to give me a hug and a kiss. "Welcome home, pumpkin."

"Thanks, dad. Missed you." And up went the paper. I guess the prodigal daughter's return wasn't as interesting as the sports page.

"Frank, Stephanie's here! Put down the paper and come eat breakfast," mom yelled. Yep, I was back home all right.

I spent the next several hours catching up with my parents and grandma. My dad didn't say much other than to mutter under his breath when grandma told me about all the things she'd done since I had left. I got a full run down of who all had died and I learned all about their viewings. There's not much to for seniors to do in the 'Burg other than play Bingo, so grandma went to the viewing of pretty much everyone who died.

I helped mom wash dishes, which caused mom to raise her eyebrows and grandma's jaw to drop. I hadn't been a domestic goddess a year ago. I still wasn't a 'Burg housewife, but I'd learned to cook simple dishes and to appreciate keeping my duplex reasonably neat most of the time. Tina loved to cook and she was a strict taskmaster when it came to keeping the inn neat and organized at all times. I guess she'd rubbed off on me more than I thought.

I had shocked my mother into silence when I refused to listen to her denigrate me. She started on about how Margaret Pelluchi's daughter lived nearby and saw her mother everyday. I simply held up one hand and said "Stop."

My mother stop mid-sentence and looked at me in shock. "Mom, I'm not Margaret Pelluchi's daughter, I'm me. I know I'm not the kind of daughter you'd like to have, but all I can be is me. So stop. If you keep putting me and my decisions down, I'll simply stay in North Carolina all the time."

My mothers lips trembled for a moment. "Stephanie, I wasn't putting you down. I just was wishing you lived closer and I saw you more."

Deep breath, "Then please just say that. Please don't compare me to other people because then it makes me feel like you wish I was them. And I'm not."

My mom thought about it for a moment. "I'd never looked at it like that." She paused for another moment. "Is that why you left?"

Oh, crap, here we go again. "It's part of it, mom. I just felt like I never lived up to your goals for me. But, here's the thing, they were never my goals. I'm not cut out to be a 'Burg housewife no matter what. Can you please just accept me for me?" I felt like I was begging but I really couldn't take being judged and found wanting again.

My mom nodded slowly. "I just wanted you to have a normal life and be happy."

"Mom, I am happy. My life isn't like yours but that doesn't necessarily make my life bad or your life bad. Maybe I just want different things in life."

That's when mom offered to make me a pineapple upside down cake for dessert tonight. I knew that was her way of saying she was sorry. I happily accepted. I had really, really missed my mom's pineapple upside down cake!

It was after lunch and I thought we'd had enough mother-daughter bonding for now. So I told mom and grandma that I was going to go visit the bond's office to see everyone.

I drove down to the office and parked around back behind Lula's firebird since there was no parking spot available on the street. Nice to know that some things stay the same, I could never find a parking spot when I needed it. It was tough to get out of the car and walk in. There were so many memories tied up in the building, some good, some bad.

I finally forced myself out of the car and wandered in. Connie was still sitting behind her desk as usual, filing her nails. Lula was on the vinyl couch flipping through a magazine. They both looked up and their jaws dropped.

In a flash, I was caught up in a group hug. Then we were all smiling and hugging and I was fighting back tears. I sniffled a few times and then sat in the chair in front of Connie's desk. We spent some time catching up and discussing everything that had happened in the last year when the door opened behind me and both Connie and Lula froze. I knew it was Ranger. Oh crap.

I felt him invade my space and my eyebrows rose. I figured he'd try to avoid me after everything that happened. I felt his hand at the nape of my neck and a soft kiss brush across the shell of my ear. "Babe."

I bit back a moan.

Connie and Lula were both fanning themselves and had rapt expressions on their face. I fought for composure and tried to slow down my racing pulse.

"Ranger," I was surprised that my voice actually sounded semi-normal. I must be getting better at this self-control thing.

He leaned over me and handed Connie a couple of body receipts. "Any new files for me?" Connie just shook her head no, unable to speak.

"We need to finish our conversation, Babe." Double crap.

Deep breath. I turned and looked him in the eye, his hand still on my shoulder. "Nothing left to say." He stared down at me, his gaze focused on mine. I could see Lula out of the corner of my eye and it looked like she was about to explode. I don't think she was breathing. Hell, I'm not sure if I was breathing.

"We'll talk soon." Ranger brushed another kiss on my hair and stepped away.

Well, hell. No way I was letting him have the last word, nope, not doing it. "If I have the time." He stopped mid stride and turned back to face me. His blank face was on but I could see his pulse beating rapidly at the base of his neck. He looked at me for a moment and I kept my eyes on his. I refused to back down. Then he nodded and turned back around, leaving the office.

We all watched as he got into a Rangeman SUV and drove off. As soon as it was out of sight, Lula and Connie exploded.

"Shit, girl, did you just stare down Batman?" Lula almost yelled, fanning herself with her magazine.

I turned back around with a small smile on my life. Yay me! I'm not sure how I'd kept my composure, especially when he kissed me, but somehow I had. I rock.

Connie and Lula just stared at me for a moment. Then Connie pointed her nail file at me. "Spill."

No way. Ranger would kill me if I told these two everything he'd said. And I wasn't ready to die yet. But Connie and Lula would kill me if I didn't give them something. Hello, rock. Hello, hard place. Good two see you two again.

I finally settled on telling them the general discussion. I told them that I'd told Ranger that I wanted to be just friends. Lula just snorted at that. "The way that man just looked at you, like you were lunch, he wants to be more than just friends, girlfriend."

Yeah, I know. I was screwed. No, no screwing. Ah crap, you know what I mean.

So I told them that he'd said that he'd give a relationship a try if that's what it took, but that I'd told him it was too little, too late.

Lula collapsed back against the couch in shock. Connie's mouth was hanging open. I just waited for them to pull themselves together.

"Nobody turns down Batman. Hell, why'd any woman want to turn down Batman?" Lula was right, Ranger wasn't used to hearing the word no.

"And you're still alive?" Connie asked.

"For the moment, yeah."


	23. Chapter 23

_**Chapter 23: Stephanie's POV**_

After that little scene with Ranger, I wasn't quite feeling up to more reunions. I was being asked questions that I wasn't completely ready to answer, like when I was moving back. Connie and Lula had been disappointed that I wasn't back for good but I promised to keep in better touch. I made plans to go out dancing with the two of them on Friday night.

As I got into the CR-V, I called Mary Lou. After listening to hear scream for almost a minute when she realized I was in town, I was able to make plans for lunch the next day while her kids were at school. I promised to fill her in on everything then and she reluctantly hung up the phone when one of the kids shoved a toy soldier up his nose. This is why I have a hamster.

I drove back home again, and the mother radar thing was fully operational. Mom and grandma had the door open before I'd made it to the walkway. I was dragging in some of my luggage since mom had demanded that I sleep in my old room while in town.

We had a nice dinner and no one, not even the chicken, was shot. I told some stories about working at an inn and grandma told me about all her potential honeys. Shit, my grandma had more prospects that I did. Talk about depressing, sheesh.

I fell asleep in my childhood bed. It was good to be home.

The next morning, I woke up to hear my dad beating on the bathroom door yelling at my grandma to hurry up. That's when I remembered why I'd left home in the first place. This house was a zoo when it was bathroom time. Yikes.

I pulled on some running clothes and laced up my sneakers. I danced in the hallway waiting for my dad to emerge from the bathroom. I really, really had to go.

He finally came out and I nearly knocked him down in my rush to get into the bathroom before I embarrassed myself. Ah, sweet relief.

I trudged downstairs and my mom and grandma gasped at my attire. I looked down. Did I forget to put on my tank top? Everything was just as it was supposed to be.

"What are you wearing?" my mother whispered.

"I'm going running," I whispered back. Why were we whispering? Everyone was already awake.

"You're going outside in that?" my mother was appalled.

I just rolled my eyes and started stretching. "Yes, mom. It's what people wear to run in."

"Since when do you run?" grandma wanted to know.

"I started running when I left. It helps me to think."

Grandma worked her dentures around in her mouth. "Maybe I should get me some of those shorts and start running."

My mother looked at me in horror. I couldn't get the image of my saggy, bony grandma in short running shorts, so I just waved and took off.

"Breakfast is in 45 minutes," my mother called out to me. I waved my hand again in acknowledgement.

I'd only gone a couple of blocks when I saw a car suddenly stop, reverse and pull into a parking spot. I didn't recognize the car but apparently they recognized me. I really hoped it wasn't a crazy stalker who'd missed me.

"Cupcake?" Shit, it was Joe. He popped out the car and was looking at me with his jaw hanging open.

"Hi Joe." I stopped, jogging in place. "What's up?"

"You're… you're running!" he said this like he was announcing that I was an alien.

I rolled my eyes again. Was it really so surprising that I ran? Okay, yeah, I guess it was surprising. Old Stephanie only ran when she couldn't button her jeans anymore. But new Stephanie tolerated running because it meant I could eat donuts and not worry about whether or not my pants would fit. And so I could outrun any psychos who tried to catch me.

"If you want to chat now, you've got to run with me. Breakfast is in 30 minutes." I gave him a little finger wave and was off like a gazelle being chased by a lion. I'd rather not talk to him now. If I'm breathing too hard to talk, I have a good excuse to not talk. I knew I'd have to talk to him eventually, but I didn't want it to be now.

I heard a car door slam and running footsteps. "Shit, Stephanie, slow down! I'm not dressed for running!" I smirked at that. I was going faster than Joe could keep up. I reduced my pace slightly, but kept it fast enough that it wouldn't be easy to converse.

He caught up with me and grabbed my arm. I turned to give him my best 'Burg death glare, but he just pulled me into a hug. "I missed you," he murmured into my hair. His hug was very awkward since I'd been mid-stride but I tried to keep from falling over.

"Joe," I squealed, trying very hard not to fall over. Alas, I wasn't able to stop my momentum quickly enough and I started falling. I took Joe with me and I landed on top of him. He let out a loud whoosh of air when my elbow landed in his stomach. I was trying to scramble to my feet when my knee grazed Joe's groin. He groaned and hurriedly clutched his crown jewels, trying to protect himself from my lethal knee.

"Stop," he demanded. I froze on top of him. I then gently eased myself off of him and stood up.

"Any permanent damage?" I asked as I brushed myself off.

His eyes were closed and he was struggling to breathe. I put my hands on my hips and stared down at him. After a couple of long minutes, he finally opened his eyes and rolled into a sitting position.

"You always were hazardous to my health, Cupcake."

What. The. Hell. This was not my fault, he's the one who pulled me! "Um, excuse me, jerk face, but you're the one who pulled me over." He looked up at me with my hands on my hips glaring at me and he started to laugh. Screw that. I flipped him off and took off to complete my run.


	24. Chapter 24

_**Chapter 24: Stephanie's POV**_

I was fuming as I ran. Damn Joe, I hadn't even seen him for more than a minute before he was blaming an accident that he created on me. Screw that.

I ran long and hard to work out my murderous rage. I'd spent a year trying to get over him and all the shit that happened in Trenton, and I'm not even back 2 days before I'm back to being clumsy, inept Stephanie. Tears stung my eyes but I just ran harder, trying to block out everything but the rhythmic pounding of my shoes on the concrete. I'd learned while I was in North Carolina that exercise helps to excise anger.

By the time I drug myself back home, I was exhausted, soaked in sweat and terribly late for breakfast. I let myself in the front door and hear my mother call out to me. "Stephanie, Mrs. Gonzales called to say that she'd heard that you pushed poor Joseph Morelli down on the street!"

I stopped on the stairs and turned around slowly. My rage must have still showed on my face because my mother backed up a step and her eyes widened. "First of all, I'm a grown woman and I don't need my mother taking me to task over anything. Second, Joe actually tripped me up while I was running and I fell on top of him. But HE pulled ME down, not the other way around. Okay?"

I didn't wait for a response. I leapt up the stairs and stomped into the shower. I'd never spoken so forcefully to my mother, but perhaps that was what I needed to have done years ago. As I scrubbed my hair fiercely in the shower, I realized that I'd made my mother step back with my just facial expression. Ohmigod, I was a mini-Ranger! Okay, thinking of Ranger in the shower was not a good idea. Moving on, change the subject. Oww, if I wanted to keep my hair attached, I needed to be a little more gentle. At least it got my mind off of Ranger.

I finished my shower and ran across the hall to my bedroom in a towel. I dressed and did my hair and makeup and just sat on my bed for a moment. I wasn't sorry per se that I'd told off my mother, but it wasn't going to be a pleasant aftermath.

I walked down the stairs with a semi-contrite expression on my face. I wasn't going to apologize but I did want to try to smooth things over. I peeked into the kitchen and saw my mother ironing. This wasn't good.

"Hi mom."

"Stephanie, your breakfast is in the oven on warm. But it won't be my fault if it's all dried out by now." Oh shit, I was in deep trouble.

I walked over and pulled out a plate of pancakes and sausages. My mouth started watering. Yum. Grandma handed me the syrup without a word, but she had a very sympathetic expression on her face. When I looked at her, she just winked.

I ate in silence. Once I was finished with breakfast, I took my sink, glass and fork to the sink and washed them all. "Thanks, mom. It was great." She nodded and kept ironing. I just sighed and walked out of the kitchen. My grandma followed me.

"You upset your mother, but you were right. I'm guessing part of the reason you left was because of that, everyone knowing your business and talking about it, right?" My grandma was very wise at times.

I nodded. Grandma patted my cheek. "Give it time, Steph. Your mom has done this your whole life and you can't expect her to change overnight." Yep, she was really wise.

I just smiled, a little sadly. I kissed her on the cheek and told her thanks for understanding.

"Stephanie, you and I are alike. We're the free spirits. Your mom isn't. It's hard for her to accept that you don't want the same life that she does. I did that life because it was expected of me, but you shouldn't settle. Have a little fun with Joe or the hot bounty hunter but do whatever it is that makes you happy. Life's too short." Grandma looked a little sad at that. She was in her 70s now and she'd done what had been expected of her until my grandfather had gone to the big all you can eat buffet in the sky a few years ago and she'd moved in with my parents.

Tears welled up in my eyes, and I grabbed my purse and escaped while I still could.

I picked up Mary Lou and we went to lunch at a restaurant outside of the 'Burg. I knew by now that everyone would know that I was back in town, and I wasn't ready to provide any more gossip fodder than this morning's interaction with Joe had provided.

We spent several hours chatting and catching up until Mary Lou looked at her watch and shrieked. "Ohmigod, I'm going to be late! The kids will be home in 15 minutes!"

I quickly paid the bill and rushed her home. I pulled to a screeching halt just behind the school bus and Mary Lou dashed out of the car. I waved hello to her kids and goodbye to Mary Lou.

I had a couple more hours until dinner, and I wanted to avoid my mother until then if possible. I went by the bond's office and chatted with everyone.

Vinnie was there this time and started making snide comments. I gave him my best 'Burg death glare. "Vinnie, I had close to a 100% apprehension rate when I worked for you. I sent you a letter telling you I was leaving. I'm sorry that I couldn't give two weeks' notice, but I'd have been talked out of leaving by God knows who if I'd stayed that long."

I kept my eyes locked on him while I said this and my voice was firm. We stared at each other for a moment and he finally nodded. "You doing better now, Steph?"

For all Vinnie's general ickiness and the yuck factor about the duck, he is family. I felt my posture relax.

"Yes, I am now. Thank you, Vinnie."

"Are you coming back to chase skips?"

"Not at this time. If I decide to come back to Trenton and I want to talk about the job, I'll let you know. And I won't blackmail you this time!" I tried to end on a humorous note.

Vinnie gave a bark of laughter and retreated back into his lair.

Connie and Lula were just looking at me. "What? Spinach in my teeth? What?"

Lula just shook her head. "You ain't the same Stephanie that left here. You didn't cuss or yell or shoot him the bird or anything."

I just smiled. Finally, someone had noticed. "Yeah, things can change in a year. I've been trying to work on my temper some."

"Hoo boy, yeah, you got a temper on you, girl. Get mean as a rattlesnake sometimes." I rolled my eyes at Lula.

When the bonds office closed a little after 5 pm, I walked around the block with Lula.

"Shit, slow down, girl. I ain't doing no power walking in these here shoes." I stopped to look at her four-inch bright yellow hooker heels.

"Nice shoes."

"Damn skippy these are nice shoes!"

We walked and chatted for a while until Lula's feet couldn't handle any more. It was getting close to the 'Burg dinnertime of 6 pm, so I drove myself home.

The evening went better than I expected. My mother didn't appear to be drunk from tippling while I was away and the ironing board had been put away. It was a fairly calm evening. Fortunately for me, but unfortunately for grandma, no one had died recently so there wasn't a viewing. I still hadn't lived down the time I accidentally burned down the funeral home. It wasn't my fault.


	25. Chapter 25

_**Chapter 25: Stephanie's POV**_

I spent Thursday catching up with some other friends whom I hadn't spoken to since my return. It was great to catch up with their lives, but I was getting a little tired of explaining why I had left and why I wasn't moving back just yet to everyone. Alright, fine, I was a lot tired of it. I left out the stuff with Ranger for the most part. Almost everyone already knew about my break up with Morelli but I didn't want it to seem like I'd turned tail and ran away because of a man. As if.

Most of my friends and colleagues had mothers much like mine, so they all understood the whole not living up to expectations thing. There were lots of wistful looks, as if they were contemplating just leaving their lives for a year.

I still hadn't heard from Joe, but I expected that I'd eventually run into him again. I stopped by the police station and chatted with the cops who were there. I was teased again about my many past calamities, and I tried to keep a smile on my face and ignore their jokes. I wasn't a joke anymore, but they didn't know that about me yet. It was really hard to ignore Carl and Big Dog's remarks but I did. I glanced longingly at Eddie's gun a few times but I didn't shoot anyone. I got an A+ for keeping my temper.

I was excited about Friday night. I hadn't been out dancing at a club in ages and I was really looking forward to hanging out with Lula and Connie. I started getting ready several hours early, and I shampooed, shaved and buffed myself three ways from Sunday. I fell back into my Jersey girl routine and did a heavy smoky eye look. I lined my lips in a nude liner and applied a shimmery pink lip-gloss. I piled my hair onto the top of my head and left several ringlets down to brush against my neck.

I'd brought a couple of dresses with me so I just had to choose. I finally decided on a royal blue swirly dress that made my eyes sparkle. It had a halter neck with a bit of a plunge and built in bra. It was an empire waist style and the skirt ended just above my knees. The skirt was made of chiffon, and it twirled out when I spun in a circle and moved sensuously against my legs as I swayed. I paired it with nude colored high heels to make my legs seem longer.

I was feeling sexy and confident. Watch out world!

Lula was wearing a hot pink spandex dress that ended just below her ass. She had about an acre of cleavage showing. She had a black feather boa around her neck and crazy high black hooker heels.

Connie had on a tight red dress with a wide black belt accentuating her hourglass shape. She'd gotten her upper lip waxed that morning and she was looking a lot like Betty Boop.

We had dinner first and then got to the club around 9 pm. I'd been dancing with a couple of guys, but mostly I danced with my girls. I'd only had one drink since I'm a lightweight when it comes to holding my booze. Beyonce's "All the Single Ladies" was playing and I was shimmying and shaking for all I was worth when I felt a pair of arms circle my waist.

Tina and I had been going to kickboxing classes a couple of days a week, and our smoking hot instructor had us also working on self defense. He was almost as hot as Ranger, so no one objected to him putting his hands on them. Too bad he'd rather date Ranger than me, but that's how it is I guess. All the good guys are gay or taken.

So when I felt myself being grabbed, I reacted as we'd practiced. Except this time, I didn't pull any punches. I drove my spiked heel into my assailant's instep. I heard an oomph and the arms loosened. I jabbed my elbow hard into the solar plexus of the person behind me, and he instinctively let me go and bent forward. I slammed my elbow in an upward motion and both felt and heard a satisfying crunch as I broke someone's nose. I pulled away, turned and had my hand balled into a fist and my arm pulled back for maximum leverage when I realized that I'd just beaten up Lester.

I stood there for a moment. He had one hand clasped over his bleeding nose and the other clutched his stomach.

"Shit, Stephanie, you bwoke my nose." At least I think that's what he said. It was hard to understand him since he was holding his nose.

I looked past Lester to see Tank, Bobby and Hal clinging to one another and laughing so hard that they were crying. Ranger was even there, doubled over from laughter. Hell, I'd never seen him laugh so hard before. I'd never seen any of them laugh this hard. They better not be laughing at me or Lester won't be the only one with a bloody nose.

I sighed in frustration and walked over to the bar. I grabbed a big handful of napkins and walked back over to Lester. He'd sat down on the floor by now and I squatted next to him. Just so you know, it takes a lot of talent to squat in four-inch heels in a short dress and not fall over or flash anyone.

"What were you thinking, Lester? Never, ever grab a woman like that!" I pushed his head forward and stuck some of the napkins in his hand. I used a couple of napkins to pinch the top of his nose to slow the bleeding. I looked around in annoyance.

"Bobby, a little help? You've got a man down here." That set them off again. They were laughing so hard that I'm sure one or two of them probably had a little accident. Good thing they were all in Rangeman black or the whole world would see that these big, bad, scary dudes wet their pants.

I was staring at them, trying to decide who I was going to punch next, when Ranger recovered enough to flash me his full 200-watt smile. Then he winked. Batman winked at me? Crap, maybe I wet my pants too. Too bad I wasn't wearing pants.


	26. Chapter 26

_**Chapter 26: Stephanie's POV**_

It took several minutes, but eventually the men in black recovered enough to help me. Tank and Bobby had picked up Lester and drug him out the door. I wiped up the blood on the floor as best I could and went to the bathroom to wash my hands. Eww gross, I had Lester's blood and snot on my elbow. Ick.

While I was there, I double-checked to be sure that I hadn't peed on myself when Ranger winked at me.

I walked outside and found the guys. Lester was still holding his nose and leaning against a black SUV. Bobby had finally snapped on gloves and was checking his nose.

As I walked up, I heard Lester whining. "I can't bewieve she bwoke my nose. And maybe my fut."

I just shook my head. "I'm sorry, Lester, but let this be a lesson. Don't ever grab a woman like that unless you want to have your balls handed to you on a plate. My next move would have been to punch you in the throat, and we wouldn't be having this conversation if I'd followed through."

All of the guys, except Lester, smiled at me.

"Damn, Bombshell. Where'd you learn those moves?" Hal wanted to know. Ranger was still smiling his big smile.

"Kickboxing three times a week for the last ten months."

"Hot damn!" That was from Tank.

I shot him a glare and he chuckled.

I turned back to Bobby. "I probably did break his foot. That's the whole idea and I was scared and pissed enough to put a whole lot of force into the move."

Bobby nodded and bent down to check Lester's foot.

"Why did you hit me so hwad, Bwutiful?"

"Shit, Lester, I've been stalked by homicidal maniacs. How did you expect me to react when someone grabbed me?" I glared at him.

He looked away. "Nawt like this."

I rolled my eyes. "Dumbass."

"So what are you guys doing here?" I wanted to know.

Tank looked at me and stopped laughing enough to answer. "We were here to pick up a skip but he'd already left by the time we'd mobilized and gotten the crew here."

I nodded. Made sense. I'd been a part of apprehensions at clubs before, but my job had usually been to lure the skip outside so the boys could take him down.

"We're going to have to get more than just your knees registered as lethal weapons now." This hilarious comment came from Hal. The guys laughed again. I glared at Hal and he looked away, but he didn't stop laughing.

"Proud of you, Babe." Huh? Ranger's proud of me for breaking one of his Merry Men?

I looked at him quizzically. He caught my look and correctly interpreted it. I hate that I'm so easy to read. Have I mentioned that?

"If it had been a real bad guy, you'd have taken him down before he could do anything to you. Especially if you'd punched him in the throat. Good job."

I nodded. I knew this. "Kinda hard to chase someone if you have a crushed trachea," I said matter of factly. That earned me another smile and nod from Ranger and a groan from Lester.

"Is he going to be okay?" I asked Bobby. I hoped I hadn't done any permanent damage, but I did hope it hurt some. It was a stupid idea to grab a woman like that. Moron.

Bobby nodded. "I'll have to set his nose when we get back, you did a good job breaking it. I'll need an x-ray to be sure, but I think you broke his foot too. The body blow didn't do any permanent damage but he'll feel it for a while. Hell, I felt that blow on the other side of the room."

I glared at Lester. "Good." Lester just moaned into his tissues.

Ranger walked over to me and wrapped an arm around my neck and kissed the top of my head.

"So what made you start kickboxing, Bombshell?" Hal was really caught on this how'd I do it question.

"A really hot instructor." I felt Ranger tense. Hal laughed, but I saw the look Tank shot at Ranger. Uh oh. I rolled my eyes. He didn't own me, I could look at all the eye candy that I wanted to. I'll keep the part about the kickboxing king being a queen to myself.

"Babe." I really need a Ranger to English dictionary. "Babe" can mean anything. Based on his body language and tone of voice, though, I was taking it to mean, "do not talk about other men in front of me or I will kickbox that man's ass straight to Mars." If I keep rolling my eyes like this, I'm going to give myself a stroke.

We stood like that for a few moments while Lester moaned. I rolled my eyes again. "Oww," Lester groaned. "My tomach is cwamping."

"You big baby, women live through that every month. Suck it up." I wasn't in the mood to listen to complaints after he'd given me a heart attack grabbing me like that.

"Are you okay, Babe?" Ranger turned me so that he could look me up and down. I rolled my eyes. I was starting to get a headache from rolling my eyes so much. "Hurt your arm or foot?"

I flexed my arms, legs and toes. "Nope, everything seems to be in good working order." His eyes darkened at that, and I realized that it could be taken as a double entendre too late. He leaned forward to kiss me and I leaned back.

I shrugged out of Ranger's hold and walked over to Bobby and Lester. I stood up on my tiptoes and kissed Lester on the ear. The rest of his face was covered in dried blood and there was no way in hell I was going to kiss that. "I'm sorry I broke your nose and foot, Lester. Is that better? Want me to kiss the bruises on your ass too?"

He looked at Ranger, who was glaring at us with his formidable arms crossed over his equally formidable chest. "Do you want to get me killed?" Lester whimpered.

I just shook my head no and gave Lester a little hug. "I'll make it up to you. Give me a call and I'll take you to dinner one night before I leave. I gave him another kiss on the ear and walked away. I could hear him moaning behind me.

"Bye bye, boys. Have fun storming the castle!" I trilled. I love "The Princess Bride".

I smiled at Ranger as I walked by him, but he didn't return my smile. I think he may have been growling. I went back into the club, but I just couldn't get back into the dance party groove, so I left in about half an hour after saying goodnight to Lula and Connie.

I walked outside and was walking to my car when I saw a shadow within the shadow. I had my defense spray out and aimed before I realized it was Ranger. He just raised an eyebrow.

"You're the one who told me to be more aware of my surroundings."

No response. Great. Batman is feeling pissy tonight.

"We need to talk." Ah, finally he decides to grace me with actual words.

"Not tonight, Ranger. I have to go bathe in bleach to get rid of Lester cooties." I got in my car and drove away, leaving him staring at my taillights.


	27. Chapter 27

_**Chapter 27: Ranger's POV**_

Ranger, Tank, Bobby, Hal and Lester had suited up in their usual black gear and raced to the dance club when they received a tip that a high-dollar skip was there. In the past, they'd have sent in Stephanie to lure the skip outside, but they didn't have anyone available currently who could do that job. Unless the skip liked guys, in which case they sent in Hector.

By the time they'd reached the club, their target had already left for an unknown destination. They'd been walking through the club just to double check that he wasn't still there when suddenly Lester took off.

Ranger thought he'd seen their target, so all of the guys followed after Lester. So he was surprised to see Lester pick up a sexy woman in a smoking hot dress. He shook his head thinking that his cousin was just being a horndog when he realized that the sexy lady was _his_ sexy lady.

He'd been shocked when Stephanie had proceeded to beat the shit out of Lester. He'd seen her in a lot of tight situations before, and she'd never responded in such a well-trained way before. There had been the one time when she'd wrestled with him on the floor of her apartment when her granny was staying with her, but even that hadn't been the coordinated attack this was.

Ranger watched Stephanie's face as she realized who it was in time to stop her deathblow to his throat. As he took in the expressions on both Stephanie and Lester's faces, he burst out laughing. He laughed so hard that he couldn't stand up straight. His big, badass, ex-Army Ranger cousin had been beaten down by his sweet Stephanie.

Stephanie wasn't looking so sweet right now, she looked pissed as hell and frustrated. He knew how to get rid of the frustration. She shot him a glare like she'd read his mind, and he watched the sway of her hips as she stalked to the bar and back with a bunch of napkins.

She squatted beside Lester and he watched the muscles flex in her legs and thighs as she was able to maintain that position in high as hell fuck-me pumps. As she leaned forward to hold Lester's nose, he saw a flash of cleavage. He was still laughing, but suddenly things weren't quite as humorous as they were hot.

They were all still laughing, except Lester of course, and she gave them an exasperated look. "Bobby, a little help? You've got a man down here." That set them off again. Lester had certainly been de-manned by Babe.

They'd finally dragged Lester off the dance floor and most of the patrons went back to dancing and drinking. Stephanie had whirled away, giving Ranger a bit of a glimpse of black lace panties under her swirly skirt, and stalked away. He couldn't tear his eyes away from her swinging hips until he'd lost sight of her. He followed the rest of his men outside.

Stephanie had come out a few minutes later. She'd spotted them immediately and had walked over. She looked adorable when she stuck her fists on her hips and glared at Lester. Ranger was just glad that the pissed off look wasn't for him this time.

Lester was moaning and groaning, and Ranger knew Lester would never live down being beaten up by Stephanie. Hell, Ranger would make damn sure that everyone in all of the Rangeman offices knew about this. Hmm, Ranger wondered if he could get the video from the club? It would be purely for training purposes, of course.

He could see Stephanie was getting annoyed with the teasing from his men, so he wisely kept his mouth shut. She'd already proven that she could pack a mean punch.

Why did Stephanie start kickboxing? He'd offered to show her self defense moves dozens of times but she'd always turned him down flat.

Ranger was so proud of her for taking down a trained assailant almost twice her size so quickly. If it had been a real situation, he felt pretty confident that she'd have kicked ass. He felt like a proud papa, except that his feelings were anything but paternal. When she made her comment about crushing a trachea, he felt so happy that she was finally taking her own safety seriously. That had always been his greatest nightmare since becoming involved with her, that she'd be in trouble and he couldn't get to her in time. Looks like now she could take care of herself pretty well. Hell, she broke Lester's nose and foot, and he used to be a badass. Apparently he wasn't badass anymore. Ranger would have to spend a lot of time on the mats with his cousin once he recovered to whip him back into shape.

Ranger thought she looked adorable when she was pissed at someone other than him. He couldn't resist, so he walked over and kissed her on the top of the head. He needed to make sure that she was all right too. Adrenaline could block pain for a while, and she'd hit Lester pretty damn hard to do that much damage.

Before he could ask her, though, Hal had asked why she'd started kickboxing. Ranger was interested in hearing the answer to that question, but he was surprised at the rage he felt when she said it was because of a hot instructor. A wave of possessiveness washed over him and his body and mind both screamed "mine!" when he thought about another man touching Stephanie to teach her self-defense. She really shouldn't bait him like that. He was already hanging on by barely a thread. She must not know how strongly he felt about her, the murderous rage he'd felt when Abuzzini and Scrog had dared touch her, had hurt her.

It took him a moment to tamp down his anger, but he remembered why he'd walked over. He looked over Stephanie to be sure that she wasn't hurt, and she had shimmied her body to be sure nothing felt tight or sore. His eyes had darkened and his blood pressure skyrocketed when she'd reported that everything was in working order. Hmm, he'd have to test out all the equipment just to be sure.

Just as Ranger had leaned in for a kiss, she backed away and ducked out of his arms. Then she walked over and kissed his son of a bitch cousin instead. He was going to have to kill Lester now, family or not. And what was that about Lester having bruises on his ass? He'd have more than bruises if he'd done anything to Stephanie! He would rip Lester apart barehanded if he'd tried anything with her.

Ranger could see the look of panic Lester shot at him. He felt no need to reassure his cousin that he wasn't going to kill him. In fact, he probably was going to kill him. Slowly. Then he heard Stephanie promise to take Lester out to dinner. She had time to eat with his loser cousin but no time to finish their conversation? Ranger could have spit bullets at that. Was she trying to say that she'd rather be with Lester than with him? What the hell?

Stephanie walked by and smiled but he was too befuddled to respond at that point. Ranger wasn't used to being ignored or told no, especially not by women. He definitely wasn't used to being uncertain about women. He was just flabbergasted that she could be so blasé. It wasn't normal. But then again, Stephanie had said she'd changed. Maybe she had. Hmm.

Ranger sent the rest of the men away. Bobby would take Lester to the ER, and Tank and Hal would go back to Rangeman. Ranger crossed his arms over his chest and waited for Stephanie to come out. Heaven help them all if she came out with a man.

Ranger was waiting in the shadows and didn't make a sound. He was surprised when Stephanie suddenly jumped and pointed a can of self-defense spray in his face. He'd been sprayed before and it was unpleasant, but he was mostly surprised at the quickness of her reflexes as well as the fact that she'd sensed him in the first place. At least she'd listened to him when he told her she needed to be more aware of her surroundings. That was a start.

"We need to talk," he stated.

"Not tonight, Ranger. I have to go bathe in bleach to get rid of Lester cooties." Ranger watched in shock and she calmly got in her car and drove away. That was twice now that she'd ignored him and his requests to talk. What the hell? Who was this woman and what had she done with his Babe?


	28. Chapter 28

_**Chapter 28: Stephanie's POV**_

I slept the sleep of the victorious that night. I'd beaten the crap out of Lester before I'd known it was Lester and I'd won two rounds of verbal sparring with Ranger.

When I woke up the next morning, I could hear my mother on the phone. I groaned, pulling the blanket back up over my head. I was sure that everyone in the tri-state area was calling to tell my mom about the incident at the club. I just couldn't catch a break, could I? I should just go back to nice, boring North Carolina.

Wait, boring? Why would I think North Carolina was boring? It wasn't boring, it was peaceful and tranquil. Right? Crap. I've only been back a few days and already I'm getting sucked into the crazy Trenton life.

The phone rang again. I knew it wasn't going to stop anytime soon and I knew that I couldn't sleep with commotion. I'd gotten used to living in a quiet corner of the mountains, and I wasn't used to hearing the phone ring itself off the hook. Not that phones have hooks anymore, they have buttons now. You know what I mean.

Although I'd showered last night, I decided to take another one just in case there were any stealthy Lester cooties that I'd missed. They weren't quite as icky as couch death cooties, but still, I didn't want to leave any of Lester's blood on me. There's no telling where that man had been, and I didn't want to catch anything from him. Ick.

I had a solitary breakfast. My mother kept shooting me glares while she was on the phone, but luckily she didn't say anything. Hmm, maybe my snippiness the other day had done some good. My grandma was at the clip and curl listening to gossip about me. Sigh. I left a note for my mom that I wouldn't be home for lunch and headed out.

I wandered around the neighborhood. I wasn't in the mood for running after spending hours in totally cute but wickedly uncomfortable heels last night and my elbow was actually a bit sore from where I'd hit Lester twice.

I decided that I needed some retail therapy. The downside to my life in North Carolina was that it was at least an hour each way to a decent mall. I wasn't sure how I'd survived this long without easy mall access, but somehow I had. I played at the makeup counter and tried on a bunch of new clothes. I was shooting for effortlessly elegant, but I think everyone knows I'm not really an elegant kind of girl. I'm more of a jeans and t-shirt girl.

I'd been avoiding him, but I was getting tired of waiting for Joe to jump out of the bushes and grab me again. I was drinking an Orange Julius in the food court when I finally decided to take the bull by the horns, so to speak, and call him.

"Yeah?"

"Hi Joe."

"Hey Cupcake. Heard I'm not the only man you've taken down since you've been back." I blew out a sigh.

"You should be happy. Lester had to go to the hospital and you just had a few bruises." I retorted.

Joe sniggered. I rolled my eyes. Ah yes, now I remember why I dumped his sorry yet fine ass.

"Listen, I'd like to see you before I head back. Are you free for lunch one of the next few days?" I asked.

"Just lunch, huh?" I knew what he was thinking. Several of our dinner dates had led to me going back to Joe's house.

"Yep, just lunch." I put the emphasis on the word just.

"Sure, Cupcake. How about Tuesday? Pino's at noon work for you?"

I agreed and then I heard someone talking to Joe. "Shit, Cupcake, I gotta go. See you Tuesday."

"Okay, bye."

That wasn't so bad. Maybe I'd survive this trip after all.

I spent the next few days hanging out with friends and shopping. It was nice and relaxing for the most part and I was glad to be back home with my friends and family.

Lester called me on Monday afternoon to complain about his injuries and we made plans to get dinner on Tuesday night. So I have a lunch date and a dinner date in one day. This is way more action than I'd seen in ages, even if both dates were going to be purely platonic.

I had just fallen asleep on Monday night when my phone rang. I grabbed at it and answered with a sleepy "'lo?"

A pause. "Were you asleep, Babe?"

Damn, I should have checked the caller ID. I was going to have to set up special ring tones again so I'd know who was calling. Mental note to self: download Batman ring tone ASAP!

"Babe?"

Oh yeah, I hadn't answered yet. "Yeah, but it's cool." Yawn. "What's up?"

I turned over in bed and propped myself up on the pillows. I had a feeling that I was going to need all my mental faculties for this conversation.

"Stephanie, we do need to talk." Oh crap, I'm Stephanie now. Being called by your full first name is never a good sign. It's like when your parents use your full name. The more names they use, the hotter the water you're in.

"Um…" I hesitated.

I heard a sigh. Then "Babe." That was the no-nonsense voice. Crap. At least I was back to being Babe, that was a good sign, right?

"You know we need to talk. I'll pick you up for lunch tomorrow and we'll talk."

"No can do, Batman. I'm having lunch with Joe tomorrow." I listened to him breathe for a minute. Shit, shouldn't have told him that. No need to antagonize him any more than necessary.

Finally, he spoke. "Okay. Then tomorrow night. I'll pick you up at seven."

"Sorry, I've already made plans with Lester for dinner."

I heard muted cursing in Spanish. Oh God, I think I just got Lester killed. I should call and warn him to pack his bags and run as fast as he can on a broken foot.

A really long silence. Had he hung up on me again? I looked at my phone. Nope, still connected. He just didn't feel like talking. I had started to doze off again when I finally heard Ranger growl at me.

"Then you tell me when you are free for our discussion."

"Wha…? Huh? Oh, um, how about Thursday?"

His voice was incredulous. "Had you fallen back asleep while talking to me?"

"You weren't really talking. And you know how I am when I'm sleepy." I was feeling defensive and I didn't really think about that before I said. Mental head slap. No need to remind Ranger that we've slept together on numerous occasions but that we aren't now. Most of those were just sleeping, but he knows how hard it is for me to wake up. He doesn't need to be reminded. I was going to wake up in Somalia some morning.

Another soft growl of frustration. Good, at least I'm not the only one feeling frustrated. "Yes, I know."

I wasn't saying anything else if my life depended on it. Because it just might. I still didn't know how Ranger had broken into my apartment all of those times and I couldn't guarantee that he didn't ooze under the doorway like smoke. I'd seen him in daylight before so he wasn't a vampire, but still. I didn't want him showing up in my bedroom tonight.

"Fine. I'll see you on Thursday. I'll pick you up at seven." Click. Ranger had hung up on me.


	29. Chapter 29

_**Chapter 29: Stephanie's POV**_

The next few days passed pleasantly. I was nervous about lunch with Joe and dinner with Ranger, but I just tried to ignore those fluttering feelings of impending doom as long as possible. I'm still the queen of denial.

I dressed carefully for my lunch with Joe. I didn't want to look too sexy and give him any ideas. I also didn't want to look too slouchy. Just because I didn't want to date him didn't mean that I didn't want to make him want me. It's a girl thing.

I finally settled on hip hugger jeans that fit me to perfection and a red stretchy short-sleeved top. It had just a hint of cleavage but still looked comfy and casual. Perfect.

I couldn't believe that I was so nervous about seeing Joe. I'd known him my whole life, but still, things were different now. I was different now.

I showed up at Pino's a few minutes before noon and searched for Joe in the crowd. He wasn't there yet but a lot of other cops were and I chatted with all of them. The guys were picking on me about Lester and I was rapidly reaching the end of my rope.

"Eddie, let me ask you something. What would you have wanted Shirley to do if some guy grabbed her?" Shirley was Eddie's wife, and she was my cousin. She's also known as Shirley the whiner. She's not my favorite cousin, but I like Eddie a lot. I will just never, ever babysit for their spawn of Satan children ever again, no matter what.

That shut the guys up pretty quickly. If it had been their wives or mothers or sisters or daughters, they would have wanted them to beat the crap out of any guy who dared to grab them. They'd all seen the aftermath of an attack on a woman, and it wasn't pretty.

Big Dog reached out and patted me on the back with his beefy hand, nearly knocking me down. "Good job, Steph. You did exactly right."

Well, hell. High praise indeed from Big Dog. I just smiled at him in relief.

"Hey, Cupcake. Stop flirting with all of my friends." Joe said from behind me. I just rolled my eyes.

"You're late. You snooze, you lose." You big, giant, stinky oaf. I didn't say that last part out loud. At least I'm pretty sure I didn't because no one laughed and I figured the other guys would like the stinky oaf part.

Joe just put his hand to the small of my back and guided me to a table in the back. It was "our" table, the one we sat at whenever possible. Crap.

The waitress came to take our order as soon as we sat down so I didn't have to talk to him yet. It had been almost a year since I'd had a Pino's meatball sub and I intended to enjoy it today.

Once the waitress left, Joe took my hands in his. "Cupcake, I've missed you," he said while looking deep in my eyes.

Really? This was the best he could do? I slid one hand out from his and patted his other hand with it. "I missed you too, Joe."

I saw a brief flash of frustration. "No, I mean I've _really_ missed you, Cupcake."

I decided to play dumb and see where this led. "And I missed you too, Joe," I repeated. I heard the restaurant go quite and I figured everyone was trying to eavesdrop on our conversation.

Not just a flash of frustration now. He blew out a breath and recaptured my hands. "Stephanie, I was a fool for letting you walk away. Please, can we try this again?" His voice sounded hopeful.

I had just opened my mouth to reply when I felt someone looming over us. Only one person looms like that. I looked up.

Ranger. Of course.

"Am I interrupting?" he asked with a half smile on his face.

Hell yes, he was interrupting, but I was kind of glad that he was. Joe, however, was not feeling any gratitude.

"Yes, Manoso, you are. You're interrupting our reconciliation." Joe glared at Ranger.

I rolled my eyes. I knew Ranger was here on purpose to interrupt any kind of reconciliation. If I'd been fully awake the other night, I would have never told him I was having lunch with Joe. That was as a good as an invitation to crash the party for Ranger.

Ranger just stood there smiling faintly at me. He raised an eyebrow in question at me. Part of me, the perpetually petulant fifteen year old, wanted to lay the hottest kiss in the world on Joe and really make Ranger squirm. The self-preservation part of me warned me that it would be a really, really bad idea.

I leaned back, pulling my hands away from Joe.

"Stop it, you two. I'm not a bone, stop fighting over me." I glared at both of them. "You can just check this alpha dog bullshit at the door."

Ranger's expression never changed but Joe looked a little sheepish.

"Ranger, go away. I'll talk to you later. Right now, I'm talking to Joe." I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at him. I saw his gaze dip slightly and I realized that crossing my arms had pushed my boobs up, and that Ranger was getting an eye full.

"Oh for Christ's sake," I said dropping my arms and pulling up my shirt. "Just go away before I break your nose too!"

"You like my nose too much to hurt it, Babe. And I'm not as easy to take on as Lester." The last part was said with a bit of menace and was directed at Joe.

I rolled my eyes again. "Don't tempt me."

Ranger's eyes went all soft and smoky. "Do I tempt you, Babe?" Ugh. Mental head slap.

I glared at Ranger and crossed my fingers. I needed to have some part of me crossed when I told this really big fib. "Only with violence."

I was starting to get really pissed and I'm pretty sure that both Joe and Ranger knew it.

"Hmmm," he said as he leaned down and kissed my forehead. "See you on Thursday at seven. Wear something nice." Then he vanished like smoke. Maybe he is a vampire, but one of the Twilight ones that can be in the sun. Except Ranger doesn't sparkle. I think Ranger would die before he'd sparkle.

I looked at Joe and he looked like he was about to explode into Italian curse words and wild gesturing. "Don't even think about it," I warned. Then I leaned forward and thumped my head against the table.

Why me? Great, now I sound like my mother.

I stayed in this position until the waitress returned with our drinks and food. The thought of a Pino's meatball sub got me moving fast, and I grabbed the sandwich with gleeful anticipation.

"Mmmmmm," I moaned. It was just as I remembered it. Rich and meaty. Yum.

"Jesus, Cupcake," Joe muttered. He was staring at me with a hungry look on his face, and I don't think he wanted my sub.

I widened my blue eyes innocently. "What? It's been a long time, Joe."

Crap. Another comment spoken without thinking. I knew Joe had caught the double meaning when his eyes turned to molten chocolate and he swallowed convulsively. "Stephanie…" he said as he reached towards me.

I just closed my eyes and took another bite. I didn't moan this time. As loud.


	30. Chapter 30

_**Chapter 30: Stephanie's POV**_

It took me several minutes and several orgasmic bites of my sub to calm down. I'd left in part because I was tired of the bullshit between Joe and Ranger, and it had already started up again. They kept pulling at me like I was a wishbone, and I'd just finally snapped with all the stress.

"Cupcake," Joe whimpered. "The way you're going to town on that sub is making me hot."

"You are such a pervert, Joe," I retorted. There was nothing wrong with a woman enjoying her food. I hadn't had a Pino's meatball sub in almost a year and I was not going to allow Joe to ruin it for me.

I ignored Joe and finished my sandwich.

He'd finally calmed, or maybe cooled, down enough to converse normally.

He fidgeted a little. "I meant what I said, Cupcake. I have missed you and I do want you back. How about it?"

Seriously? This is what he thinks is romantic enough to win me back? Clearly he hasn't been reading enough romance novels. I should send him a few of Emily's books when I got back to North Carolina. Almost all of them were written by women, and women know how to write a good, seductive reconciliation scene. In Pino's with half the 'Burg watching ain't gonna cut it for any girl.

I leaned back in my chair. It's a good thing I'd been running regularly or I'd have had to pop the top button on my jeans.

"I'm sorry, Joe, but I told you before I left that it was over between us."

Joe sighed. "I know, but I had to try."

I smiled. That's my Joe, always trying to find a way to get into my pants.

Joe leaned back and looked closely at me. I could see cop Joe take over from horny Joe. The new me was a mystery to him, and Joe was good at solving mysteries. It's what made him a good homicide detective.

"You've changed, Cupcake."

"Yep." I have the right to remain silent, anything I say can and will be used against me by Joe Morelli at some future date.

Another long stare. "What's different?"

How do I answer that question? All of me is different. I hesitated. "I don't really know how to answer that, Joe. I'm just different. I spent time reading, thinking. Trying to decide who I am and what I want in life. And I decided that being the 'Burg housewife wasn't for me, which you already knew. But being the screw up and the joke also wasn't for me. So I've tried to make changes in my life to get me headed in the direction I want to go."

"Where do you want to go, Cupcake?" He really was paying attention.

"I don't know the destination yet. I just was sick of being laughed at, of being not good enough." Joe looked shocked.

"No one ever laughed at you or thought you weren't good enough!"

He really hadn't paid much attention to my life before I left, had he? "Yeah, Joe, they did. Including you. How many times did you bet whether I'd show up at the station covered in crap or not? Or when my car would explode?"

"Cupcake, that was just a little harmless fun," he said defensively.

"Not to me it wasn't. It hurt."

Joe's eyes softened. "I'm sorry if I ever hurt you." He took one of my hands in his and looked at me earnestly.

"I know you are, Joe, and I forgive you. But you never even noticed how much it hurt, even when I told you. You'd just complain about how I gave you heart burn or how no one else's girlfriend got into messes like that."

Joe looked shocked. "So that was why you dumped me? Because I joked about you with the guys?"

Sigh. He wasn't getting this. "No, Joe, it was because we wanted different things in life. You wanted to marry someone who would be like your mom. Stay at home mom, dinner on the table at six, lots of little Morellis running around. And I didn't want that life. I still don't want that life. But, Joe, please know this, if I did want that life with anyone, it would have been with you."

I could see Joe fighting an internal fight with himself. Finally, he sighed and looked up at me with that crooked smile that could still make my heart go pitter-patter. My fingers itched to push back a lock of hair that had fallen over his forehead but I restrained myself. I was getting a lot of practice with restraint lately.

"I do love you, Cupcake."

"I know. I love you too, Joe."

He stared at me for a few beats. "So it's really, totally over with us?"

"Yeah, Joe. It is. I'm sorry." He nodded and looked at the table for a moment.

"So you and Ranger…" he trailed off.

Sheesh, not this again. I felt like a toy between these two. Neither one wanted me, at least not in the way I wanted to be wanted, but they sure as hell didn't want the other one to get me.

I sighed. "Not that it's any of your business, but we're just friends. Well, maybe friends, I don't know if we're even that anymore."

Joe just looked at me. "Cupcake, as your _friend_," he put the emphasis on the word friend, "and as a man, he's not just your friend. He looks at you the way I look at you."

"Joe, as a _friend_," I twisted the word, "thank you for caring. But it doesn't matter how he looks at me. We can only ever be friends."

Joe looked at me assessing. "Why is that, Cupcake?"

I hesitate, pondering whether to say anything to Joe or not. In the end, I decided that Joe had been one of my closest friends for the last couple of years, whether we were on or off in the dating department.

"He doesn't do relationships. And I don't do casual."

"How do you know he doesn't do relationships?" Detective Morelli was in the building.

"Because he's told me so, multiple times. He loves me, but not the kind of love that comes with a ring." Joe looked shocked, and maybe a little angry. Whoops, maybe I went too far.

"Steph, he wants you. Almost as bad as I do. I think he'd do anything now to keep you, including a relationship if that's what you needed."

"Yeah, that's what he says now," I spoke before I thought. I slapped my hand against my mouth. Stupid! Think before you speak. Argh.

Joe leaned back in shock. "He said that?" I nodded. "And then what?"

"Well, Dr. Phil," I glared at him, "I told him it was too little, too late. And that's going to stay just between us, right, _friend_?"

Joe burst out laughing. He laughed so hard he was gasping for breath and all of the other diners were giving us curious looks. I hadn't seen Joe laugh this hard in a long time, probably since Bob ate my thong. Apparently I turned into quite the amusing comedian while I was away. First Ranger and his Merry Men and now Joe.

I blew out a disgusted sigh. "Glad that my life is so amusing to you."

Joe held up one hand but kept laughing. I shot him my 'Burg death glare, and he just laughed harder.

"Oh my God, I'd have given my badge to have seen the look on his face when you told him that! Did you look at him like that too?"

I flipped Joe the bird and stood up. He grabbed my arm and pulled me into his lap. He kept chuckling and I was getting closer and closer to going to jail for assaulting a cop.

Finally, he stopped. I had my arms crossed over my chest in anger and he was clutching me to his chest. We were nose to nose.

"Are you done?" I was pissed.

Joe's eyes crinkled at the corners with his smile and he dropped a little kiss on the tip of my nose. I glared at him. We were sitting so close that he should have been smoking with the heat from my death glare. I wrinkled my nose at him. He loosened his tight hold on me and I jumped to my feet.

"It wasn't funny, it was awful."


	31. Chapter 31

_**Chapter 31: Stephanie's POV**_

"Poor Cupcake, I'm sure that was tough."

"Yeah right, Joe. Like you're feeling the least bit of sympathy for Ranger. That would be like me feeling sorry for Joyce Barnhardt, that skank whore, for getting an STD. Not. Gonna. Happen."

"Steph, I feel bad for him as a fellow man. To put it all out there like that takes balls. And you squished 'em." Eww, that's a gross mental image. Squished balls. Ick. Ranger balls. Mmmm.

Focus, Stephanie.

"And you don't think he's broken my heart before?" That should be a totally rhetorical question but Joe answered it anyways.

"What did he do?" I just glared at him. "Come on, Cupcake, tell Uncle Joe."

"Uncle Joe? That would make you a true pervert, you incestuous creep."

"It was a figure of speech!"

"You're not my uncle."

"God."

"I don't think He's talking to you since you're such a jerk."

"Cupcake…" he trailed off threateningly.

"What?"

"What did he do to you?"

I crossed my arms across my chest again and huffed. "I'm not telling you."

"Stephanie," he said in that why me? tone of voice. The one my mother uses a lot.

"Would you really want me telling any personal stuff between us to him?"

That made him think for a moment. "No. But I think I knew when you left that it was over between us. I swear to God, I'm just asking as your friend now."

"Is this the same friend who handcuffed me naked to my shower?"

"Argh!" Joe ran his fingers through his hair. It looked sexy all messed up like that, but I wasn't going to tell him that. His ego was already too big for its britches as it was.

"I had to call Ranger to come unlock me."

That got his attention. "Really? You called Ranger?" I nodded.

"Why?"

"Because I was handcuffed naked to my shower!"

He thumped his head on the table. Good thing he'd moved his plate or he'd need to go home and take a shower. I could be exasperating at times, and boy, I was enjoying it this time.

"Yes, Stephanie, I know. I was there. Why did you call Ranger instead of one of a million other people?" He was trying to be calm but I could tell I was making him nuts. Such fun. For me.

"Because I didn't want anyone else to know. He hung up on me the first time, he thought I was joking. He was pissed when I called him the second time but he came over and unlocked them. And that's when it all began."

Joe looked shocked. "You mean everything started because I handcuffed you to the shower?"

"Naked to the shower. And yes."

"Shit."

"Yep."

We sat there for a moment. I could hear Joe muttering under his breath that he was a stupid bastard. I didn't say anything. I agreed.

Joe took a deep breath. "Please, Cupcake, tell me what happened. Not all of it," he hastened to add, "only, you know, the last part."

"So you don't want to hear about the wild monkey sex?"

Joe looked a little green. "No!" he yelled.

"Alright, alright. Not that there was much wild monkey sex, and never while you and I were together."

He just nodded. I needed him to know that I never cheated on him. Well, never fully cheated on him. A few kisses and little groping in alleys don't count, do they?

My turn to take a deep breath. "He came over to check on me the morning after you and I broke up. My cell had been destroyed, again, and I hadn't listened to the messages on my answering machine." Joe nodded.

"I told him that we broke up and he said we'd figure it out. I told him that we wouldn't, that it was really over. He didn't believe me. I said that it was because you and I wanted different things out of life and that you couldn't handle my relationship with Ranger."

Joe murmured something. I thought it sounded suspiciously like "damn skippy".

"Then he said… he said that we didn't have a relationship, that his life doesn't lend itself to relationships. I told him we had something, and he said that was all it could be. I asked him for how long and he never answered."

"Damn, Cupcake."

"That's when I got it, Joe. It was like a sudden burst of enlightenment. He had no problems poaching on you but he didn't want me in that way. Sure, for sex, but nothing more than that. And you know that I don't work that way."

Joe looked at little pissed at the poaching comment, so I continued. "I never cheated on you, Joe." I looked at him steadily.

He took a moment, but then he nodded. "Thanks for that, Steph." I knew he meant thanks for reassuring him as well as thanks for not cheating.

I waited. "I don't know what to say, Cupcake. Is that why you left?"

"That was part of it. Everything was part of it, really. All the crap just added up over time so that wresting a skip in the trash, breaking up with you and then whatever hell it was with Ranger just tipped it over. I snapped. I had to go."

Joe nodded. "I think I get that. I wish you had told me where you were going, though."

"Hell, Joe, I didn't know where I was going!" We both laughed. I was glad we could laugh about it now. I wasn't sure that would ever happen.

"But you're having dinner with him?"

"He said that we needed to talk. I told him there was nothing left to say. He insisted. Unless I want to wake up one morning in a third-world country with nothing, like Michael Weston, I have to at least talk to him, to explain. Just like I did with you just now."

Joe smirked at the "Burn Notice" reference. He knew I secretly wanted to be Fiona. What? I already have stuff blowing up around me on a regular basis. Or at least I did. That's halfway there, right? I'd never, ever, in a million years be that skinny, though.

"How do you see this playing out, Cupcake?"

"I have no idea. Just know that if I vanish without a trace this time, it wasn't by choice." I tried to make it sound funny, but I could tell by the way Joe's mouth tightened that I had failed.


	32. Chapter 32

_**Author's note: **__Sorry for the delay in posting. I was out of town this weekend to celebrate my 30__th__ birthday. I'm planning to post a bunch of chapters now, and never fear, I've almost got this one finished. I just have to tie up some of the loose ends and make sure my 9__th__ grade English teacher would approve. I'm getting crazy addicted to FF though, and that I've started two other stories. This was supposed to just be a little procrastination from my dissertation, not a new obsession!_

_Hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think. _

_**Chapter 32: Stephanie's POV**_

Thank God for murder. Wait, that came out wrong. I was just glad that Joe got a call and had to leave. He kept picking apart things like the cop that he is, and I was perilously close to either crying or shooting him. I'm not sure which.

We'd spent several hours dissecting Ranger's psyche during lunch, and let me tell you, I never want to do that again. Not ever.

I got home in time to change clothes and touch up my makeup for dinner with Lester. Red seemed to be the color of the day, so I put on a red jersey dress with just a little bit of stretch to it. Then I put on medium heeled black boots that came halfway up my calf and grabbed a black purse to match.

Given that I'd already beaten the crap out of Lester, I didn't want to subject him to the Plum family inquisition, or my grandma, so I'd planned to meet him at the restaurant.

I picked up my phone as I got in the car.

"Yo."

"Hey Lester, it's Stephanie."

"Hey, Beautiful. What's up?"

"Could we go to someplace new, that you've never gone to before?"

"Sure. Why?"

"'Cause I've already had Ranger crash my lunch date today and I don't really want to go for round two."

I swear to God, I _heard_ Lester turn green over the phone.

"Breathe, Lester."

"Okay. How about Sam's Steaks? It's a new restaurant over near the mall."

"Great. See you in ten."

When I arrived at the restaurant, Lester was already standing there by his car. He still looked green, but that could have been the bruising from his broken nose. He was also wearing a walking boot over his foot. I felt awful.

"Hey, Beautiful. How's it hanging?"

"Nothing to hang on me, dude, but thanks for asking." I smiled and he laughed.

We walked into the restaurant together and were shown to a booth in the back. We exchanged chitchat for a few moments while we checked out the menu. We both ordered steaks with loaded baked potatoes. My kind of man. Ranger would have ordered a salad. Ick.

"So what's this about Ranger crashing your lunch date?"

"I was with Joe and Ranger showed up just as Joe asked me to give him another chance."

Lester slouched in his booth and moaned softy.

"What?" Lester just shook his head at me. "I didn't agree!" That seemed to make Lester a little happier but he still looked like he was on death row. "So I just didn't want Ranger to show up and make a scene tonight."

"Oh my God, does Ranger know we're here together?" He was looking a little panicked.

I looked at him. "Yeah. Why?"

"Oh dear God, you're going to get me killed! Why did you tell him that?"

"Because he asked me to dinner tonight and I told him I couldn't because I had plans with you."

Lester moaned again. Then he motioned to the waiter. "Bourbon, neat." He looked at me and shook his head. "Make it a double. The good stuff."

I was starting to get a little irked. "What is wrong with you?" I snapped. "I didn't hit you in the head that hard, did I?"

"No, but Ranger is going to do more than just hit me. I left most of my hardware at the office since I'm on office duty for now. Oh, shit, I don't even have anything to fight back with. Not that I'd win, but I'd rather go down fighting, you know?"

I rolled my eyes. "Lester. What are you talking about?"

"He already put me through five kinds of hell for scaring you at the club. When I pointed out that you'd taken care of the problem just fine, he just smiled and told me we'd wait to see about that once I was released to full duty. That we'd discuss it further on the mats. Then he asked about the bruises on my ass comment you made and I had to explain. That's when he added another week to the sparring practice. If he finds out you and I are out together, he'll just rip my head off. I'm sure of it. I have to update my will."

"He already knows that I had plans with you for tonight."

Lester moaned. "Tell my parents that I love them."

"Sheesh, don't you think you're being a little overly dramatic?"

"No."

"Aren't your parents his aunt and uncle?"

"Yes."

"So?"

"Doesn't matter. I'm still dead."

I rolled my eyes again. "Fine. I'll leave. You never saw me."

"Don't leave a man alone during his last supper."

Are you kidding me? Is he for real? He seems serious. "Lester, stop it. Be serious."

"Oh, I am serious, Beautiful. You don't seem to know how that man feels about you. It took Tank and three others to keep him from tearing Trenton apart when he found out you were missing. I thought he was going to kill all of us just so he could get out there to find you. Hal finally had to stun him. He said it was poetic justice because you'd once stunned him when Ranger had ordered it to keep you in and now Hal was stunning Ranger to keep him in the building. And when Scrog had you, oh holy shit, that was the scariest thing I've ever seen. And I've seen a lot of scary shit in my line of work, Steph. Tank said he was practically catatonic after you left Rangeman last week. I've known him all my life, and he's never been like that before. Never."

"Wow."

"Yeah. So you see why he's going to kill me now."

"No, he knows we're just friends," I argued.

"He's not working off of logic when it comes to you, Beautiful, it's pure emotion. And a lot of emotion at that."

I considered his words. I knew Ranger cared about me, but I'd never heard how much. Then I thought back to when I'd been kidnapped by Stiva. Ranger had dragged a court clerk in at gunpoint in the middle of the night to find any real estate that Con owned. I remembered the look on his face when I fell out of the cabinet and into his arms.

But then I remembered the completely blank look on his face when he told me that we didn't have a relationship and that we never would. Yep, that helped to put things in perspective.

"Beautiful, has he never told you that he loves you?" Lester questioned me gently.

"Yes, but he always qualified it with "in my own way" or "but this kind of love doesn't come with a ring, just a condom". And that's not what this girl needs."

"He what?" Lester's turn to look shocked. He started muttering in Spanish. I understood the words "muy estupido [very stupid]" but that was it. It was about a two-minute tirade. I was impressed. I don't think Lester ever stopped to breathe while he was calling Ranger names in Spanish. I really need to learn more Spanish than just the food names. It sounds just as good for cursing in as Italian is.

"Stephanie, apparently my cousin is a raging idiot. He loves you. Period. No qualifications. He may not have admitted that even to himself yet, but he does. Trust me. I'm putting my life on the line here. He loves you." Lester spoke with such quiet sincerity that it was hard to ignore.

"Maybe."

"No maybe." Lester was insistent.

I sighed. "Okay, so maybe he did."

"He does. Present tense."

"No, Lester, no present tense. Past tense only. I'm not the same Stephanie I was a year ago."

Lester just looked at me for a long moment. "Shit."

"Exactly, " I agreed.


	33. Chapter 33

_**Chapter 33: Stephanie's POV**_

Lester still looked like he was about to die, but at least he wasn't moaning anymore. We both enjoyed our meal. The steaks were amazing and there was lots of bacon on the loaded backed potato. Mmm, bacon. Great, now I'm channeling Homer Simpson. D'oh!

Lester still seemed convinced he was going to die so he ordered three desserts. Hmm. You know, he's hot, sweet and eats dessert. I may have to shift my focus to him instead. Yeah right, then Ranger would kill the both of us.

I'd scooted over next to him in the booth after we ate all three desserts to give him a hug for telling me all the stuff about Ranger. It felt good to know that Ranger cared that much, and it was really chipping away at my conviction to only be friends. But in the end, I just couldn't get past the pain I'd felt when he'd told me that we'd never have a relationship.

"So, how are you feeling?" I asked Lester.

He rubbed his nose. "Damn, Beautiful, but you did a good job taking me down. I've gone up against armed insurgents who didn't do as much damage!"

I nibbled on my bottom lip. I felt bad, if I'd known it was him, I wouldn't have reacted so forcefully.

Guess he read that on my face because he reached out and put his thumb to my lip to stop me from chewing on it. "Don't. You did what you needed to do. I was an idiot for grabbing you like that. Don't feel bad for me, I learned my lesson. Got it?"

I nodded and smiled at him, his thumb still on my lip. Then I saw him freeze, his hand dropped away and he groaned. Oh great. I'll bet you $10 that Ranger was standing behind me.

"Stephanie," he said in a growl. His fists were clenched and his pulse was beating wildly at the base of this throat.

"Ranger. You planning to crash every date I have from now on?" I knew I shouldn't antagonize him, but seriously? Twice in one day?

He took in a deep breath. "Santos, I need to see you outside."

Lester moaned. I crossed my arms over my chest. "No."

Ranger cut his gaze back to mine. "No?" He raised an eyebrow.

"You will leave your cousin out of our business. This doesn't involve him."

Ranger growled. "He seems pretty damn involved."

"He's my friend and he's your friend. Nothing more than that." Ranger just glared at me.

"And I will be very pissed if you kill him. Not to mention those awkward family reunions if you kill your own cousin."

Ranger just growled. "Santos, outside, now!"

I stood up. Time to end this bullshit once and for all. "No, Ranger, you and I are going outside to have our chat since you apparently can't wait. Leave Lester out of this."

He pushed past me to reach for Lester's arm. What. The. Hell. Oh no, he didn't. I grabbed his arm and pulled as hard as I could. I could barely budge him but I did get his attention. I was boiling mad.

I got in his face and yelled at him. "Outside NOW, damn you!"

He turned to look at me. He had murder on his face and I could definitely see why most bad guys just surrendered rather than tangle with Ranger. But I was too pissed and yes, hurt, to care.

"Babe."

"Now, damn it."

He turned back to Lester. "This isn't over."

"The hell it isn't," I retorted. "Get your ass outside now."

He shot me a glare that would have made me wet my pants were I less pissed. But, praise be, he actually complied and walked out.

"Shit, Stephanie," Lester whispered. I turned back to face Lester and he had the weirdest look on his face.

"I'm sorry if I caused any trouble, Lester. Seems to be all I do. You're a good friend and a good man, and I appreciate everything you've done."

"Shit, now you sound like you're about to die," Lester tried to joke.

"Could be. Get out while you can, I'll try to distract him."

"No way, Beautiful. I'll come with you." He started to slide out of the booth.

I held up one hand. "No, you won't. This is my fight and you can't fight it for me. Only me."

He slowly nodded his head and slid back into the booth. I leaned in and kissed him on the forehead. "Be careful," I murmured and walked away.

I could feel Ranger's simmering rage as soon as I walked outside. He was leaning against my POS CR-V. I unlocked the doors. "Get in."

"Stephanie." His deadly quiet voice.

"Get the fuck in the car, Ranger. I have a lot of things to say to you and I don't want half of damn New Jersey listening. Get in."

I think his eyes may have widened a bit at my cursing but I was enraged to care. He got in the car and I slammed it into gear and smashed the gas pedal all the way down. We shot out of the parking lot and I drove in silence. I finally pulled into a park that I knew would be deserted this late at night.

I turned off the engine but left my keys and pried open the door. I slammed it shut with as much force as I could and I heard Ranger's door open and close gently a few moments later.

I stalked to the middle of the park and stood looking at the mood, struggling mightily to get my explosive temper under control before I went off on Ranger like Mount St. Stephanie.


	34. Chapter 34

_**Chapter 34: Stephanie's POV**_

I turned to face him. "How dare you? High and mighty Batman, think you control everything, don't you? Well, news flash for you, but you don't own me. I am not your property. You do not control me no matter how much you act like it."

I stood there quivering in rage and Ranger just stood there with his blank face on like he was in the grocery store trying to decided between the twigs cereal or the bark cereal. It pushed my temper even father and I was fighting with all I had not to start beating him with my bare hands. I had never been so angry before, not even when I caught The Dick cheating.

I just stared at him. I knew he'd have things to say and I needed him to get them all out now so I could lead a life without him popping up constantly.

I had a sudden thought. "Did you put a damn tracker on me again? I am not one of your Merry Men, Ranger, and you have no reason to be spying on me!"

"Stephanie," it came from between tightly clenched teeth, "I tracked Lester since I knew you were meeting him. It makes me crazy to see you with other men."

"So what are you going to do about it? You gonna move to North Carolina and try this intimidation shit to scare me and any guy who might like me away? You gonna set up surveillance on my bedroom in case I bring a man home with me? Apparently I'm damn good at going 'in the wind', you ass, and if you try that shit, I'll vanish for good this time. Is that what you want?"

He snarled "No" at me and his blank face was gone. Good, time to be honest with each other for once.

"Then what the hell do you want, Ranger?"

"You!" he yelled as he grabbed me and kissed me for all he was worth. It was the hottest kiss I'd ever had and I'd had some pretty hot ones from both Ranger and Joe. At another time, in another situation, I probably would have just collapsed into a tiny little puddle but I was too pissed this time.

I hooked my right foot behind his and shoved him as hard as my flooded with adrenaline muscles could manage. He actually moved away and tripped over my foot and fell on his ass.

He looked up at me in shock. "Keep your damn hands to yourself." This was probably the only time that he'd been dropped on his ass by a woman since he was a toddler but I was too far gone in my anger to worry about repercussions.

I stalked over and stood in front of him, looming over him like he's done to me a million times, my hands fisted on my hips. "You don't own me. I am not your pet. You cannot keep other men away from me if I want to see them. I'll go back to North Carolina tomorrow if I have to, but for God's sake, stop it with the macho bullshit."

He just looked up at me in shock. I took a deep breath and backed up a step. "Ranger, I know exactly how you're feeling right now and I'm sorry you're feeling that way. But you have only yourself to blame. Not Joe. Not Lester. Hell, not even me. Just you. You made your choices and you have to live with them. Don't take it out on other people. You don't like how things are now, fine, you man up and figure out how to deal with it. But you do NOT get to act like the scorned lover and go on a jealous rampage."

He was still silent, his arms on his knees looking up at me.

I looked back at him. "So say whatever it is you need to say. Because after tonight, I hope to never see you again."

I stood there in silence for eighty-seven seconds. I know how long it was because I was counting. One Mississippi, two Mississippi, and so on.

I blew out a sigh and walked over to Ranger. I squatted down in front of him and locked gazes with him. "I'm sorry that you're hurt. I'm sorry that you're feeling this way. But now you know how it feels. Think about that before you screw with someone's feelings, okay? You've been a good friend to me and I'm sorry that it's all screwed up now. Thank you for everything that you've done for me and for all the things you tried to do for me that I was too stubborn to accept. You've literally saved my life and I will never, ever forget that. I will always be grateful to have had you in my life. But I just can't do this."

I thought that would get a reaction but he just kept looking at me. Most of his face was shadowed, so I couldn't read it even if his blank face was down. So I just leaned forward and kissed him on the forehead.

"Goodbye, Ranger."


	35. Chapter 35

_**Chapter 35: Stephanie's POV**_

I turned to walk away and I'd probably gone about 10 feet when I felt his arms wrap around me. At least this time I knew who it was so I didn't break any noses. That's progress, right?

"Babe, please." That's fighting dirty, he knows I can't resist hearing please from him.

"I can't do this, Ranger. I can't. I just can't do it." I tried to pull myself out of his arms but they stayed around me. They weren't tight, but I knew I wasn't going to escape until he wanted me to unless I was really prepared to fight him. If it came to that, I would. I was done with being Stephanie the wimp. If I had to take on Batman to save my soul, I would give it my best shot.

"I'm sorry." Holy shit, stop the presses. Did he just apologize?

I didn't try to pull out of his embrace, but I did turn around so I was facing him. His blank mask was gone and it was just Ranger standing there, not the mannequin that he turned into sometimes. I searched his eyes looking for something to tell me what he meant. No help there.

"For what?"

"For pushing you away. For being the ass that you say I am. For being such a jealous bastard. I just can't help it. You're mine and I'm yours."

Wow. I leaned back in his arms so I could see his face better. "I'm not yours and you were certainly never mine."

I felt his arms tighten around me. "I've been yours since day one, Babe."

"What makes you think that?"

"I've never felt like this about anyone else. You're the only woman, other than Ella, who's ever been in my apartment. You're the only woman who's ever made me feel this way. You're the only one I want."

Well, hell. He certainly wasn't making this easy on me, was he? "Ranger, I know how you fight. I know how you'll think in some situations. But I don't know you, not the real you. I don't know what your favorite book is. I don't know if you even like to read. Hell, I don't even know where you really live. I don't know really anything about the person you are behind the Ranger façade. So you were never mine. We just pretended for a little while."

Ranger looked sad at this and I know that I looked like I'd just lost my best friend. I was feeling like I just had lost my best friend.

"I like reading. War and Peace is my favorite novel. I'll take you to my house right now if you want me to. You know more than you think."

I leaned forward and settled my head into his neck like I had so many times before. If this was my last hug from Ranger, I wanted to enjoy it.

"Thank you for that. It really means a lot. But I just don't see how it could work. My life is in North Carolina, and Ranger, I'm a different person now. Could you really imagine the old me knocking you on your ass and yelling at you like that?"

Ranger let out a little chuckle at that and tightened his arms around me. "No, I guess not." He pulled back and looked me in the eye. "But I love this Stephanie too."

Oh, sweet child o' mine. I wanted to fling caution to the wind and give it a try. The nosy side of me _really_ wanted to see the Batcave. But the part of me who'd been so terribly hurt by his rejection couldn't fathom opening myself up to that kind of pain again. And I was afraid that nothing with Ranger could end in any way other than me in pain.

"I can't," I whispered and I felt the tears start. I'd used up all the rage and all that was left was the hurt. I tried to pull away but he just pulled me closer and stood there running hands up and down my back while I cried.

I don't know how long we stood there. I finally pulled back and wiped at my face with my hands. I'm sure I looked like Bozo at this point but I didn't care anymore. He'd seen me looking worse.

"Babe, I do love you. Both of you," he whispered. I could see the truth in his eyes, finally. He did love me. But he didn't really know the new me yet, so how could he love that part of me?

I looked away and laid my head back down on his shoulder. I felt his heart racing and it scared me that I could do that to him. He'd always had that power over me, but I'd never known that I had any power over him. Well, except when it came to sex.

"Just give it, us, a chance, please, Babe."

Crap. Again with the please. "I don't see how anything could work. I live a dozen hours away, Ranger. We've both changed in the last year, we're not the same people as we were before."

"We'll find a way. We'll get to know the new parts of each other."

I was still hesitating. I didn't know what to say. I didn't even know what to think.

"I missed you." It was spoken so softly I could barely hear him.

I looked him in the eyes. "I missed you too."

He took a deep breath. I knew this was hard for him but it wasn't exactly a bed of roses for me either. "You don't know how many times I'd come into your apartment just to watch you sleep for a while. If it had been a shitty day or a take down had gone FUBAR, I needed you. I just needed to see you. Even if you didn't see me."

Wow. I mean I'd suspected some nights that he'd been there. There would be the faintest scent of Bulgari in the air but I'd convinced myself that it was just my imagination or maybe wishful thinking. Guess I should have trusted my instincts after all.

"It nearly killed me when you weren't there. When I knew you were with Morelli. That he could offer you a kind of life that I couldn't. That's why I kept pushing you to go back to him. I thought he could give you more than I could, that you'd be happier with him than with me. And your happiness and safety is the most important thing in the world to me." He was really killing me here.

"But there's the problem, Ranger. It was about what you thought I needed, what you thought would be best for me. You never asked me what I wanted."

He was silent for so long that I started to think that he'd fallen asleep. "I'm sorry."

We just held each other for the longest time. I'm not sure whether it felt like goodbye or hello, but it was just so nice to hold him again.

After the longest time, the air had cooled and I start to shiver despite Ranger's arms around me. He pulled me in closer but I just gently pushed him away. I stepped away from the warmth of his arms.

"Well, it's certainly been an interesting few days. It's a lot to take in. Just give me some time to think about everything."

He nodded but I could tell he didn't like it. Tough.

"Just give me some time. We'll talk about this the next time I'm up here, okay?"

He looked pained. "Please give me Thursday night. I've watched you with other people and it ripped me apart. Please give me that one night with you, to show you how much I care."

I nibbled on my lip. "I'm not sure that's a good idea."

"I'm sure it is. Please, Babe."

Sigh. I nodded and he smiled the smile that makes women walk into walls for days on end. Good thing I was so emotionally exhausted or I'd have jumped him then.

I nodded. "I'll drive you back to your car."

He shook his head. "I'll walk. I need the exercise."

I looked at his bulging biceps in disbelief. If they got any bigger, he'd run out of skin. He just grinned and flexed a little for me. I looked him in the eyes, waiting until I knew he was watching, and I rolled my eyes at him.

He laughed a little and wrapped an arm around me. He walked me to my car and opened the door for me. Once I was seated, he gave me a gentle kiss on the lips and whispered against my lips. "Drive safely. Call me when you're home. I love you."

That was actually really sweet. I looked at him in shock for a moment and he gently closed the door and stepped away.


	36. Chapter 36

_**Chapter 36: Stephanie's POV**_

I drove home, but I don't remember it. Once minute Ranger was kissing me and the next minute I was in front of my parents' house. I sat outside in the dark replaying the events of the last few days.

Oh shit, I forgot about Lester! I needed to let him know that I was still alive. I dug out my cell phone and called him.

"Thank God, you're still alive!"

"Hey, Lester. Yeah, I'm okay. You?"

"Fine. Still at the restaurant in case you came back here."

"Oh no, you should go. I'm back at my parents' house now. And Ranger was walking back and I don't know how long that will take!"

"You left him somewhere?" There was awe in Lester's voice.

"Yeah. I offered but he said that he needed the exercise."

"Shit."

"What?"

"That usually means he's trying to work off the anger and frustration. Is he still planning to kill me?" Lester's voice was a little bit panicked now.

"I don't think so. He asked me to call him when I got home so I'll call now and see if I can get a promise that he won't kill you. Then I'll call you back." Lester swore under his breath.

I hung up and was trying to collect my thoughts when my phone rang. I was caught completely off guard and so I shrieked a like a teen girl spotting Justin Beiber and threw the phone across the front of the car. I sat there clutching my heart for a moment, and then the roar in my ears subsided enough for me to hear that someone was talking to me.

"Babe? Stephanie? What's wrong!" It was Ranger.

I fumbled for the phone, it had gotten wedged between the passenger side door and seat.

"Sorry! Hello?"

"Are you okay? I heard you screaming! Where are you? I'm on my way." I'd blown up cars before and hadn't heard this level of anxiety in Ranger's voice.

"No, no, I'm fine. I had just picked up the phone and when it rang, it startled me."

"Oh."

"It was only a minor heart attack, I'm sure I'll survive."

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yep. Might need a new phone since I chucked this one across the car but it seems okay for the moment." Silence. "What's up?"

Ranger sighed. "I really hate to do this, but we could use your help taking down a skip tonight."

"Oh." I hadn't done a distraction in a year.

"If it's too much for you, we can try to figure out something else, Babe."

"No, it's just a surprise. I haven't done a distraction in a long time. I don't really have many slutty clothes with me."

"The skip we're going after likes the more corporate girls. Less Stark Street, more Wall Street. But he's hard to get out of the bar and we don't want to risk collateral damage if we can help it."

"I think I could do that. Probably. When?"

"As soon as you can get ready. I'll swing by and pick you up."

"No, I can meet you there. I'm in front of my parents' house now so it won't take me long to get ready. Where am I going?"

"Babe." What does he mean by Babe now? He really needs to learn better English. The man speaks a bazillion languages but all he seems to say to me in English is Babe. Argh.

"Where at, Ranger?"

Sigh. "Bloody Mary's."

"I'll do it on one condition."

"What's that?" 

"You have to promise to be nice to Lester. No killing him, extra monitor duty, anything like that." Long period of silence. Oh no! Was I too late and he'd already offed his cousin?

"Babe."

"Don't 'Babe' me, Ranger. I need actual words. Yes, you agree to my condition or no, you don't and you have to put on the dress to lure out the skip instead." The idea of Ranger in a flirty dress was actually pretty hilarious.

"Fine," he sighed, "I'll be nice to Santos." He sounded a little disgusted.

"See you in thirty minutes then."


	37. Chapter 37

_**Chapter 37: Stephanie's POV**_

I raced into the house and rushed into the bedroom. I reapplied my makeup to be more sultry and started pulling clothes out of the closet. I'd not really come prepared to play corporate Barbie, but surely something would work. In the end, the only outfit was the one I'd been wearing when I'd first spoken to Ranger when I got into Trenton.

It was a tight gray pencil skirt, which I pulled up Steve Urkel-style to make the hemline much shorter. I changed into a pushup bra and left the top couple of buttons on the blue wrap shirt undone so you could see the edges of the black lace peeking through. I pulled on black thigh highs and positioned them so that when I crossed my legs, the top of the lace would show just under the hem of the skirt. Lethally high hooker heels completed the look.

I mussed my hair to get that afterglow hair look and tossed on a pendant necklace that nestled in my cleavage, meager though it was without the assistance of Victoria's Secret. Ironically, the underwear line was called bombshell, and that was one of my less charming nicknames.

Thirty-two minutes later, I pulled in the Blood Mary's parking lot and found Ranger and the guys planning in the back of the parking lot. I sashayed over, putting a little extra swing into my step. Ranger saw me first and he went completely still.

It was insanely awkward to see him again so soon, especially since I was wearing the same outfit as our first confrontation. So I manufactured some bravado and managed a sultry voice when I said, "Hello, boys. Corporate slut reporting for duty."

Hal and Junior turned around and let out wolf whistles. Ranger definitely had his blank face on and Tank was busy casting anxious glances at Ranger. I didn't see any other guys, but I figured there were more inside already.

"So what's the deal, fellas?"

Ranger was quiet for so long that Tank finally answered my question. "Very high dollar federal fugitive. Wanted for drug and human trafficking charges. Don't know why the hell he was able to get bail. Known history of domestic violence. Usually too smart to come out without an entourage but sometimes doesn't think with the head on his shoulders when ladies are involved."

Great, they are sending me in after a drug dealer with an entourage who likes to beat up women. Wonderful.

Ranger had finally snapped out of it and he came over with the wire in a box. When he reached towards me, I slapped his hand away and told him I didn't think so. After all the emotional turmoil of the last few days, I couldn't handle him putting his hands on me. Plus it had been almost a year and I was afraid my hormones would go out of control if he touched me.

I held out my hand for the wire and he just gave me a look. I rolled my eyes at him and he finally put the wire and medical tape in my hand.

I glared at all of them. "Well? Turn around!"

"You're no fun, Bombshell," Hal complained but I just glared at him. Once Ranger had also glared at them, they all turned around, including Ranger with a sigh when I made a go on motion at him, and I stuck the wire into my cleavage and taped it in place.

"All done now." They all turned back and Tank handed me an earpiece and the photos of the fugitive. He looked mean. So not looking forward to this. Quick comm check, everything worked fine.

"Bobby and Ram are already inside a patrons. Same as before, we'll be waiting outside of the door for you to bring him out."

I blew out a breath and shot a glance at Ranger. Blank face still on. "You guys are so gonna owe me for this."

Then I turned around and swung my barely covered ass towards the door. I'd gone several steps when I felt Ranger's hand clamp around my wrist. I turned back to look at him and his eyes were black. He reached down and tugged my skirt down a few inches and buttoned up one more button. I glanced at him in askance.

"Don't want to have to kill my own men."

I rolled my eyes and started back into the bar. I paused just inside the door to let my eyes acclimate to the lighting in the bar. It was nicer than most of the dumps that I'd been at during distractions. I got an orange juice, plain, and started wandering through the bar. People would assume that there was vodka or champagne in it so I'd blend in, but the plain juice kept me sober. And vitamin C is good for you, right?

I spotted Bobby dancing very closely with a leggy blonde. Ram was shooting pool with a couple of guys who seemed to be too drunk to care that they were losing all their money.

I spotted the fugitive on my second circuit of the bar. I turned around, fluffed my hair and whispered, "Got him. Back pool table in the right hand corner. Don't see any obvious bodyguards."

I strolled over and cut in on Bobby's dance with the blonde. I made sure to swing my hips a lot and to laugh loudly. Bobby whispered in my ear that the target was paying attention and I threw back my head and laughed with abandon. When the danced ended, I kissed Bobby on the cheek and strolled towards the pool tables. I shot a round with Ram, making sure I flashed my boobs at the target a few times. Yep, he was definitely paying attention.

After I beat Ram, I strolled around a bit more and finally swung my ass up on a barstool to watch the fugitive pay pool. He postured a bit and finally looked me in the eye (most of his previous glances had been aimed at my chest or legs) and smiled. I smiled back a little drunkenly.

He shot another round and then strolled over to me. "Hey sexy, haven't seen you around here before."

I shrugged my shoulders, drawing his attention to my Vicky enhanced cleavage. "I've been here a few times before. Must have missed you."

He had a large diamond or diamond-like stud in his ear so I leaned forward and touched with delicately with one finger. "Pretty."

He smiled. He looked normal, but I could feel the menace radiating off of him. My Spidey senses were tingling, telling me to haul ass out of there.

"You like shiny things, sweetheart?"

I shrugged again. He looked at my boobs again. "What girl doesn't?" It was a rhetorical question.

"So what's your name, sugar?" Gag me with a spoon, ick.

"I'm Shelly. And you?"

"I'm Jackson, doll baby." Did he have you use every single term of endearment in this conversation? "What do you do, honey?" I guess he did.

"I'm a lingerie buyer." Best to stick with something I know. Or at least knew. Seemed like a lifetime ago that I bought granny panties for E.E. Martin.

His eyes darkened somewhat. He glanced down at my cleavage again. I'd used that line before and I knew it led the skips to concentrating on what I was wearing under my slutty clothes and distracted skips are easier to manipulate.

"So what brought you into my little world tonight, baby?" I noticed that he didn't tell me what he did. Probably telling girls that he was a domestically violent drug dealer didn't do much for his dating life.

I smiled. "My belly dance class got canceled, so I thought I'd find something else to keep me occupied tonight." I leaned in closer. "I don't do well when I'm bored," I whispered. I could hear the other guys groaning in my ear. I'm pretty sure Ranger was the one who growled.

Jackson, the fugitive, looked intrigued. "You gonna belly dance for me tonight, darlin'?"

I looked around as if I was in earnest thought. "This isn't exactly the right kind of music, baby." I paused, his attention all on me. "We've been practicing to that song from the last Spiderman movie. Oh man, what's the name of that song?"

I was trying to subtly warn Ranger to be prepared for anything. We always joked that my instincts were actually Spidey senses.

I heard Ranger whisper, "Got it, Babe," in my ear.

I widened my eyes at the fugitive. "I think I have the CD in my car!" I bounced a little bit on the bar stool like I was excited at the thought of belly dancing for him and I forced myself to slide a little off the stool. I grabbed his arm to keep myself from falling. "I'm sorry! Thanks for catching me, baby."

He looked around and nodded at someone but I didn't want to turn and stare and alert him. "Well, lets go see if you have that CD in your car, sugar."

I slide off the barstool and wrapped my hand around his arm. "Alright. I'm pretty sure it's in my car, baby. Let's go check."

We started towards the car and I heard Bobby curse in my earpiece. "Shit. Two guys following. Look dressed."

Crap. This might turn into the shoot out at the Ok Corral, and I really didn't want to get caught in the middle.

"Can you detain?" Ranger asked Bobby and Ram.

"Negative without alerting the target," Ram answered.

"Shit," from Ranger. Yes, it had gone all to hell, but I was the one trapped in the middle of the shit storm. "Be careful, Babe."

We walked out the door and I caught a hulking shadow to the right out of the corner of my eye. Tank. Unfortunately, Jackson also saw Junior to the right and he had a gun pressed to my kidney before I could move away. Yikes. Well, I had two kidneys and I really only needed one, right?

"What the fuck is this?" he demanded.

I whimpered. "Who are these guys, baby? What's going on here?"

The two bodyguards came out behind us, and Bobby and Ram had guns to their heads before they could make a move towards their guns. The goons froze. Time froze.

"Bond enforcement agents, Mr. Mitchell. You missed your court date and there is an arrest warrant for you and we're taking you in to be rescheduled." Ranger spoke calmly as he stepped into view. His eyes briefly drifted to mine and I could see his pulse beating in his throat.

"Fuck no, man," Jackson really wasn't all that articulate, was he?

We stood in a Mexican standoff while Ranger tried to reason with Jackson. Are you kidding? There's no reasoning with psycho drug dealers.

"I'm scared, baby," I whispered to Jackson. "What's going on?"

When I felt the gun move away from my kidney and point towards Ranger, I made my move. I simultaneously drove my spiked heel into his loafer clad foot and my elbow into his stomach. Take that, jackass Jackson! I hope I broke his foot.

I heard a gun go off, I felt a stinging on my arm and I dove out of the way to let the men in black wrestle the skip into cuffs.


	38. Chapter 38

_**Chapter 38: Stephanie's POV**_

I turned over on the ground and was examining my road rash knees and bloody arm when Ranger jerked me to my feet. "Are you hurt?" he demanded.

I was still trying to figure that out for myself. Both knees hurt like hell and my right upper arm was stinging like a million bees had just stung me all in the same spot. Shit, I'd been shot. Again. Why me?

I looked over at my arm and Ranger glanced over before he paled. "Brown! Steph is hit!"

"I'm fine, just a graze, I think." Ranger's arms tightened on my shoulders. "Oww!" Don't squeeze my gunshot wound. Yeesh.

Bobby handed his goon over to Ram and he rushed over. Tank was shaking Jackson like a dog with a chew toy. "What were you thinking, shooting that girl? You gonna be lucky if you don't get yourself dead tonight, man."

Ranger swung me up in his arms and carried me over to one of the Rangeman SUVs. I tried to tell him that I could walk and he just ignored me. I was at least 10% sure that I could have walked. Bobby had already opened the cargo door to the SUV and pulled out his med kit. Ranger sat me in the open floorboard space.

Bobby had gloves on and was prodding at my wound. "Oww!" I glared at him. I forgot how much getting shot hurts.

"Gotta check it, Bombshell." And then he cut the sleeve of my formerly cute shirt off my arm. Damn. I really liked this shirt.

Ranger was holding my non-injured hand and shooting death glares at the still struggling Jackson Mitchell. I could hear Tank muttering in my earpiece. "You a stupid man, a really stupid man. Ranger gonna kill you. You shot Stephanie, he gonna kill you now." He must have been around Lula a lot because he was starting to sound a lot like her.

Bobby spread some kind of disinfectant on my arm and it felt like it was on fire. I whimpered and reflexively squeezed Ranger's hand. Ranger turned his attention from Jackson and wrapped his arm around my back. "Babe."

I focused on not crying from the pain, biting my lip and closing my eyes. Holy crap but this hurt. A few tears leaked down my cheeks and Ranger wiped them away.

Finally, Bobby, evil masochist that he his, stopped pouring the liquid fire on my arm. "It just grazed her, just muscle and fat. Probably need a couple of stitches to close it up properly."

Hadn't I already told them it was just a graze? Geez, don't these guys ever listen?

Then Bobby turned his attention to my knees. Road rash city, straight ahead. He reached up under my skirt and Ranger growled at him. Bobby put his arms up in an 'I surrender' gesture. "I need to get her pantyhose off so I can check her knees."

Ranger nodded and Bobby peeled down my completely ruined thigh highs. That was $14 long gone now.

He poured more of the evil liquid fire on a gauze pad and put it on my knee. I reflexively kicked Bobby in the thigh. "That hurt!"

"So did getting kicked in the leg by pointy-toed shoes," he replied.

"Bet that mine hurts more than yours. I've been shot, for crying out loud!"

Bobby cleaned up my knees and I only kicked him two more times before he pulled my heels off of my feet and tossed them in the back of the SUV. He pulled up my left leg and rested my foot on his rock hard thigh. I wiggled my toes experimentally against his taunt quadriceps muscles. No fat at all on his thighs, unlike mine. Damn.

"Must have been some glass on the ground. Knee's pretty cut up. Probably need some stitches. Already swollen, probably sprained it." He looked up at me. "When was the last time you got a tetanus shot."

"When was the last time I got shot?"

"Babe," Ranger said.

"I went almost a full year without being shot or needing stitches. Guess I was overdue for some quality ER time."

Blue lights were everywhere by now and I saw Morelli walk over. He shook his head and paced around a bit before coming over to me.

"Cupcake, what did you do now?"

"Joe, shut up. I didn't do anything."

"Why does this always happen to me?" Joe asked, walking towards me.

I pulled my less bloody right leg out of Bobby's hands and shoved it into Joe's stomach. That stopped him with a loud oomph. "It didn't happen to you. It happened to me. So go the hell away before I do shoot you!" I glared at him. "And stop looking up my skirt!"

Ranger growled a little at the thought of Joe looking up my skirt and Bobby reclaimed my leg. I could feel him shaking with laughter so I glared at him too. "Shut up. All of you, just shut up."

"Babe."

"That includes you, Ranger."

"Babe."

"Shut. Up."

I started thunking my head against Ranger's shoulder. Why me?

"Babe."

"Shut up."

I thunked my head a few more times and then I felt the adrenaline start to wear off. The world went all twirly and it was only Ranger and Bobby's quick reflexes that kept me from pitching forward out of the SUV. Bobby was shining a light into my eyes and telling me to follow his finger with my eyes.

"Adrenaline crash," I whispered.

Bobby nodded and walked to the front of the car and pulled out a can of coke. The combination of sugar and caffeine helped when your blood sugar inevitably crashed after an adrenaline overload. I wrinkled my nose as Ranger helped me drink it. Ugh, it was warm. Bobby handed me two pills and I swallowed them. I didn't know what they were, but I hoped they'd make the pain go away.

I was suddenly so tired. I relaxed against Ranger's chest and he pulled me tighter to him. Mmmm, he was warm. And either he was really happy to see me or his Glock was currently poking me in the back. Given that it's Ranger we're talking about, I was going to go with a gun is what is poking me in the side.

"Move it," I whispered to Ranger.

"Move what, Babe?" he asked in response.

"The gun poking me in the side." There was a pause and then Bobby started laughing. I could hear one of the guys in my earpiece laughing too. Guess my wire was still transmitting.

Bobby shot a glance at Ranger and then put his head down to wrap my knee. Ranger shifted me slightly so that whatever it was wasn't poking me in the side anymore. Much better.


	39. Chapter 39

_**Chapter 39: Stephanie's POV**_

When Bobby finished wrapping my knees, he nodded to Ranger. Bobby picked me up in his arms and Ranger jumped out of the SUV. He climbed into the backseat and Bobby handed me up to him. Ranger sat me in his lap and wrapped his arms around me. It wasn't quite worth getting shot, but it was a nice consolation prize if I had to get shot.

Bobby jumped in the front seat and drove through a sea of police. We pulled into the ER about 10 minutes later and the guys reversed the process. Ranger handed me out to Bobby, and then Bobby handed me back to Ranger once he had gotten out of the car. Ranger walked through the ER and sat me on an empty gurney.

Julie Whinseky wandered over. "Stephanie! I haven't seen you in a while." She'd been a few years ahead of me in high school and was an ER nurse.

"Haven't been shot in a while. How's Whiskey?" That's her husband's nickname. With a last name like Whinesky, he should be grateful that his nickname was Whiskey instead of something like Whiney.

"He's good. What's wrong with you?"

"Gunshot graze and smashed up knees," Bobby reported. Julie nodded. Ranger and Bobby stayed with me until the doctor came in to check me over. He was a new guy.

Bobby stepped out but Ranger stayed by my side. "Husband?" the doctor asked me.

"Nope," I replied.

"Well, only family is allowed back here with patients." He must be really new. Ranger shot him a glare and the doctor very wisely dropped it.

He poked and prodded my arm and knees and I was envisioning stabbing him with a scalpel, repeatedly, when I felt Ranger squeeze my hand. "Scary look there, Babe."

I just nodded. The doctor poked some more and I fantasized some more. He'd finally poked enough, or he'd seen from my expression that he'd poked enough, and he said that I'd need stitches. Duh. Bobby had already told me that. Then he said he wanted to get an x-ray of my left knee just to make sure I didn't fracture the kneecap. He glanced at Ranger and then at me.

"Um, any possibility that you're pregnant? We have to know for the x-ray."

"Nope."

"Are you sure there's no possible way? We can do a test first if you like."

"Nope."

"You sure."

"Yes, doctor, I passed biology class and I know about the birds and the bees. It's fine." Argh. I so didn't want to be discussing my sex life, or the lack thereof, in front of Ranger of all people.

I must have had the stabbing him with a scalpel look on my face again because he finally dropped it. Smart man. I still had one semi-functional knee and I wasn't afraid to use it.

"Looking scary again, Babe." Then I started thinking about stabbing Ranger with a scalpel. He shook his head and looked like he was thinking about smiling. "Babe."

I got the x-ray and my kneecap wasn't broken but I had sprained it pretty badly in the fall. I was given a couple more painkillers. Had I told them that Bobby had already given me two of something? I'm pretty sure I had.

By the time the doctor came back to stitch up my arm and knee, I was feeling goooooood. No pain, nothing. I was high as a kite but I was enjoying it. I don't really remember what happened after that.


	40. Chapter 40

_**Chapter 40: Stephanie's POV**_

I woke up from a nightmare about the jackass Jackson very confused with a warm body wrapped around me. I started shrieking and beating the owner of the body with my fists. In less than two seconds, I was pinned on my back by a sleepy Ranger.

"Babe?"

"Oh, thank God it's you!" Ranger looked confused at my exclamation.

"Who else would be it?"

"The jackass."

I looked around. I was in Ranger's bedroom on the seventh floor of Rangeman. It was taking my brain a while to get going and I was trying to figure out why I was in Ranger's bed when his hold on me went from defensive to romantic. He kissed me gently and I'm pretty sure I moaned. I'd sucked his bottom lip into my mouth and was gently nibbling on it when he shifted his body and bumped my battered knee. I jerked my knee back in pain and felt my knee tear. I still had hold of Ranger's lower lip and it was his turn to jerk back in pain as my teeth clamped down over his bottom lip. He sucked in a breath and slowly removed his leg from my knee.

I let go of his lip with a mumbled, "Sorry", and was hyperventilating to get through the pain.

"Babe, you bit me!" He sounded shocked. I had my eyes squeezed tightly shut but tears escaped anyway. "Babe?" It would have been funny if I wasn't dying.

I couldn't talk. Waves of pain were rolling over me from my knee. I just lay there moaning, writhing in pain.

I felt the bed dip as Ranger get out of bed and I heard him on his cell phone a moment later. "Steph's in a lot of pain. Get up here."

About fourteen years later, or at least that's how it felt, I felt the covers being pulled away from me. "Steph, I'm going to check your knee," said Bobby's voice. I had my hands clenched in the sheets to keep from strangling him for making it hurt more.

"Shit, looks like she's bleeding again. I'll have to check her stitches and redo her bandages." Why was I bleeding? What was wrong with my knee? My brain was fuzzy and my knee was white-hot agony.

I felt arms lift me up and wrap around me. I was pulled into a semi-sitting position and a couple of pills were pressed against my lips. I opened my mouth and they were pushed in. Then I felt a cup against my lips and I drank the water. As soon as the water hit my stomach, nausea decided to join the pain parade and I gasped.

"Sick," I managed to murmur. I felt something under my chin and I retched. I was moaning more or less continuously now.

"I was afraid of this," Bobby said. Of what? Since when were Merry Men afraid of anything?

I retched several more times until there was nothing left in me. Ugh. I hate being sick. I felt a cool washcloth on my face but I was in too much pain to move. I just whimpered.

I felt the bed shift but I couldn't open my eyes to see what was happening. I felt something cool on my arm and then a prick. It was nothing compared to the agony in my knee or in my stomach.

I moaned for a few more minutes and then I was floating. I didn't feel the pain anymore but I also couldn't control my body. Lucy in the sky with diamonds, I was singing to myself.

"Shit, boss, what happened?" I heard Bobby ask.

"She woke up and was hitting me. I pinned her without thinking and she said she'd been dreaming about the take down going bad. I must have hit her knee because then she started crying," Ranger said sheepishly.

I felt the bandages being removed from my knee and Bobby sucked in a gasp. I wanted to open my eyes and see what was wrong but I couldn't. Didn't sound good, though. Crap.

"She tore open her stitches. Do you want to take her back to the ER?"

There was a pause. "Can you do it here?"

"Yeah," Bobby replied. "Can you bring her down to the med clinic on three? I don't want her to get an infection. And I can give her something for the pain and nausea down there." Bobby was Rangeman's medic and his clinic room was better stocked than most ERs.

I felt Ranger move out from behind me. About a minute later, I felt him wrapping something around me. A robe, maybe. Then I was lifted in his arms and we were in motion. The motion caused my knee to hurt more and I started moaning in pain again.

I felt Ranger's arms tighten around me and felt his lips brush my forehead. "Sorry, Babe," he whispered.

A couple of eons later, I was laid down on a nonmoving surface. Finally.

"Steph, I'm going to start an IV. I'll be able to give you pain medicine and something for the nausea, okay?"

No response from me. I had to focus on not puking again. Cold and wet on my wrist and then a sharp pain. The IV was in.

That's all I remember.


	41. Chapter 41

_**Chapter 41: Ranger's POV**_

Ranger had seen her only a half hour ago and it had been a very emotional meeting. She'd yelled at him and dropped him on his ass. She dropped him on his ass. He still couldn't believe it. He was proud of her for her newfound abilities but disgusted in himself that he'd pushed her so far that she had to resort to dropping him on his ass to get away from him.

And Dios Mio [My God] but the way she'd stood up to him. There were very few people who would face off against him when he was pissed but she hadn't batted an eyelash. She just yelled at him. Told him that he made his choices and to deal with them like a man.

He agreed with her. He had been a stupid ass but he didn't know how to make it up to her. So he'd poured his heart out to her, begged her to just give him a chance. He was slightly pissed at himself for begging but he was willing to do that for Stephanie. She was that important.

He'd been glad that she hadn't kicked him when he'd wrapped his arms around her. He'd been halfway prepared for a spiked heel on his foot, and he knew he deserved it, but she'd just leaned back against his chest. It had been wonderful. And then she'd agreed to see him again on Thursday and to think about what he said. It was more than he could have hoped for. He was going to take her out on Thursday night to a nice restaurant and then to his house. His Batcave, as she called it. She said she didn't really know him, and she didn't know all of the details. But she knew him, the man behind the mask, better than almost anyone else in the world.

Then the call had come in. A federal fugitive, Jackson Mitchell, was a very high dollar federal fugitive, and taking him into custody would net RangeMan $100,000 for one night's work. So when they got the tip that he was at the Bloody Mary bar, Ranger tried to figure out how to get him without civilians being injured. Mitchell was a known ladies man and would usually leave a club or bar alone if he had a hot girl on his arm. Otherwise, he left with an armed entourage and Ranger didn't want to get into a gunfight unless absolutely necessary. It had seemed to be a safe enough job for Stephanie. She'd done distractions before and intel said that Mitchell would follow his dick anywhere.

Ranger reluctantly called Stephanie and asked her to do the job. He could hear the reluctance in her voice but she'd agreed. Then she'd showed up looking like a teenaged boy's wet dream. He legs were at least a mile long and he could see flashes of the top of her lace thigh highs with her every step. Her shirt was unbuttoned far enough that he could see the luscious swell of her breasts over her shimmering lace bra. It took all his willpower not to pick her back up and throw her in his car when he saw her coming. There's no way the fugitive could resist her. How could anyone resist her? That's why he had to pull down her skirt and button up her shirt a little more. He didn't want his men so focused on Stephanie's assets that they didn't get the fugitive safely.

All the men groaned when Stephanie made the comment about belly dancing. That was a mental image that wouldn't go away and not one that Ranger wanted his men to have in the middle of a dangerous situation. Then she whispered that she didn't do well when she was bored and little Ranger instantly conjured up several ways that he could keep her from being bored. Shit.

Then Stephanie made the Spiderman reference. Ranger knew that was code for something felt off. Stephanie had some of the best instincts of anyone he knew, and it didn't bode well if she thought there was trouble ahead. He got his men into position and cursed when Bobby reported two armed bodyguards following their fugitive. They'd sent Stephanie in precisely so they wouldn't have to deal with the bodyguards. The plan was FUBAR.

He'd been ready to kill Mitchell when he pushed the gun into Stephanie's side. If he hurt her, he would kill him. Slowly. And painfully. Then Stephanie was knocking the gun away when it started moving towards him. She was trying to dive out of the way when he heard the gun go off. Tank and Junior had him subdued in seconds and Ranger's heart nearly stopped when he saw Stephanie bleeding on the ground.

She'd tried to be brave and funny while Bobby tended to her wounds. Her every whimper and half-suppressed moan ripped into his heart. Then that ass Morelli showed up and started yelling at Stephanie. He wanted to do more than just kick Morelli in the stomach when he looked up Stephanie's skirt. The only good part about the whole fucked up night was that he got to cuddle Stephanie while she was being treated and on the way to the hospital. If she hadn't needed to go to the ER, he'd have ripped Mitchell's balls off. And maybe Morelli's. Okay, definitely Morelli's.

At least the doctor had enough sense not to try to make Ranger leave. Ranger was in a dangerous mood and it wouldn't be a good idea to provoke him tonight. And forcing him to leave Stephanie's side while she was in pain would definitely be a provocation that wouldn't end well for the doctor.

At least he learned that Stephanie couldn't be pregnant. Wait, was she so sure because she hadn't been having sex or because she was on the pill or something? Shit.

The pain medicine the doctor gave her knocked Stephanie out pretty quickly. When the doctor handed Bobby a bottle of pain pills and told them that he'd already given her two, Bobby paled and swore.

"I'd already given her two Vicodin."

The young doctor looked scared. "You can't prescribe medications," he tried to bluster.

Bobby just loomed over him, looking scary as hell, and said he could. He was a physician's assistant and he could provide medication when needed. He'd told the nurse this and had watched her note it on the chart.

"So, doctor fuck up, did you not read the chart before shoving pills down her throat?" The doctor was sweating bullets now. He hadn't looked beyond the note that she had no known drug allergies.

Bobby turned to Ranger and explained. "She's had a double dose of opiate pain killers and she's not that big. Too much can make you kinda crazy and a whole lot sick. We'll have to keep an eye on her. No more strong painkillers for tonight."

Ranger nodded at Bobby and sent an icy glare at the doctor. The doctor just gulped and scurried away.

There was no question where Stephanie would go tonight. She was injured and unconscious from too much pain medicine. Ranger had taken off Stephanie's stained clothes, washed her gently with a wet washcloth like she was a child and pulled on of his Rangeman t-shirts over her head. She never moved during any of this. He tucked her into his bed and the sight of her in his bed made his heart swell like the Grinch's.

He'd crawled in next to her and wrapped his arms around her. She was safe here, he would protect her with his life if necessary.

Ranger was shocked out of a very nice dream of Stephanie belly dancing for him by her screams. Before he could determine what was happening, hands were beating on him. He reacted without thinking, pinning Stephanie beneath him. Her beautiful blue eyes were wide and scared.

Then she'd relaxed against him and she said she was glad it was him. Who else could it have been? He felt awful for putting her though this ordeal when she said she was afraid it was the jackass, her nickname for the fugitive, Jackson Mitchell. He'd reacted to her softness and had started to kiss her. She was kissing him back and he'd shifted to be closer to her when he accidentally hit her knee.

Stephanie had gone deathly white and had slammed her teeth into his lower lip that she had been nibbling on. He'd jerked back instinctively but that had only made her moan louder. It took a few seconds for the reason to clear his cloud of passion.

Merde! [Shit!] He'd smacked his knee into her very swollen, freshly stitched knee. Stephanie was moaning in pain, writhing in his bed for all the wrong reasons. When she didn't stop, Ranger picked up the phone to get Bobby up there ASAP. She was in pain and it needed to stop. Right now.

Bobby got there and jerked back the covers. Normally, Ranger would go ballistic at another man seeing his Babe in nothing but a t-shirt twisted around her waist and teeny, tiny black lace panties, but he trusted Bobby to keep it professional as long as Stephanie was his patient. Red was blooming against her white bandage and Ranger swore at himself. He'd been half asleep dreaming of Stephanie and he hadn't thought about her injuries.

He'd carried her down to the medical clinic room on the third floor and Stephanie had moaned with his every step. It was breaking his heart.

Bobby had gotten an IV started and Stephanie had finally relaxed and gone silent. Bobby cleaned up her knee and redid her stitches and bandages. Then he shot a look at Ranger, changed gloves and was pulling down on Ranger's lower lip. Oh yeah, she'd bitten him.

Bobby just gave him a look and shook his head. He wiped both the inside and the outside of Ranger's lower lip with antiseptic and Ranger understood why Stephanie had kicked Bobby when he'd put that on her knee. That shit burned!

Bobby pulled two chairs over, one on each side of the bed. He took one and Ranger took the other, watching over Stephanie while she was in drug-induced sleep. Bobby fiddled with the IV and injected something.

At Ranger's inquisitive glance, he explained it was an anti-nausea medication. The double dose of potent painkillers was too much for her system and he didn't want her to keep vomiting. The IV would replace the fluids she'd lost and keep her hydrated.

Bobby got up several times to check on things but Ranger never let go of Stephanie's hand. As the hours passed, several guys came in to check on Stephanie once word got out that she'd been moved to the clinic early in the morning. She didn't move.

Ranger sat there and blamed himself for her injuries. She'd been hurt in the first place helping him and then he'd hurt her again by moving without thinking. She was right, maybe they should only be friends. She'd been hurt because of him, she could have died because he asked her to help. It was all his fault that she was in pain and so ill.

Finally, almost ten hours and two liters of saline later, the call of nature roused Stephanie from her sleep.


	42. Chapter 42

_**Chapter 42: Stephanie's POV**_

Oh my God, I have to pee! That was my first thought when I woke up.

My second thought was, where the hell am I?

I was in a white room and the lights were down low. Huh? I lay there for a moment trying to get my bearing and I felt a hand in mine. It took a lot of effort, but I was finally able to turn my head. Ranger.

What the hell? How had he found me?

"What are you doing here?" I asked him. My voice was gravelly.

"You got hurt, Babe?" How'd I get hurt?

"How did you find me?"

"I was with you when it happened, Babe."

What? How had I gotten hurt? And how was he with me when it happened? Nothing ever happened to me in North Carolina.

I must have said all of that out loud because Ranger sighed. "You came back to New Jersey for a visit and, asshole that I am, I got you hurt, Babe. I'm sorry."

I was really confused, but, more importantly, I really, really had to pee. Right now.

How do I tell Batman that I have to go potty?

"Ranger, I need the bathroom."

"Okay, Babe, let me get Bobby."

"No, I gotta go NOW!" It was getting painful and urgent and I really didn't want to wet the bed.

Bobby must have heard my yell because he was instantly beside me. Ranger scooped me up in his arms and Bobby was pulling an IV stand behind me. Ranger sat me down in a bathroom and my legs started to collapse under me. He caught me again and it took a few seconds for the pain to shoot up my left leg. Holy cow, what had I done to myself?

Bobby grabbed hold of me and shoved Ranger out the door, closing the door in his shocked face. He he, that would be funny if I weren't about to pee all over myself. And Bobby. Bobby jerked my panties down and sat me down on the toilet. I was almost crying trying to keep from peeing in front of him. He took a quick look at my face and then ran out the door himself.

Thank you, God! I finally emptied my overflowing bladder and felt instant relief. I was able to pull up my panties and drag myself to the sink using only my right leg and my left arm. As soon as the water started, Bobby and Ranger were back in the bathroom. Bobby held me up while I washed my hands and then Ranger picked me back up in his arms and carried me back to the bed.

Once I was tucked back in and Bobby was done poking at me, I allowed my mind to wander back over what had happened. It was all very fuzzy.

"Explain," I commanded, channeling my inner Ranger.

Ranger looked like he thought about smiling. Bobby stuck a thermometer under my tongue and I glared at him. "Es'pain," I mumbled around the thermometer. Ranger sighed.

"You were helping us with a distraction last night. It didn't go well and you got grazed by a bullet on your arm and beat your knees up pretty bad when you dove out of the way."

Hmm, sounded vaguely familiar. I just kept looking at Ranger. "Mm hmmm," around that stupid thermometer. How long does it take to get my temperature, anyways? Finally it beeped and Bobby pulled it from my mouth. Guess I wasn't dying since he didn't freak out.

I locked my eyes on Ranger. He looked sad. After a moment, he asked me, "What do you remember, Babe?"

I thought about that for a minute. "You crashed dinner. Yelling at the park. Oh my God, did I really knock you down?"

Bobby laughed and looked shocked. Ranger's cheeks got a little red. Oh God, Batman was blushing!

"Yeah, Babe. Pretty good moves, you knocked me right on my ass for being an ass." He seemed a little embarrassed. Bobby looked fascinated.

"How'd she do that?" he asked Ranger. Ranger just shot him a look and Bobby looked away.

"After the park, things get a little fuzzy," I admitted. Ranger looked at Bobby and Bobby smiled at me. I guess he could tell that I was feeling a little panicked.

"Hey, Bombshell, that's fine. I'd given you some pain meds at the scene and then a little prick of a doctor in the ER gave you more without checking your chart first. So you had a double dose, or maybe a triple dose given how tiny you are, of drugs. It made you a little sick last night and I had to start an IV to rehydrate you and to give you medicine. So things are probably a little fuzzy for you."

I got all warm and happy when Bobby said I was tiny. I loved him!

"What's wrong with me?" I asked.

"You got a bullet graze on your right arm. It took a couple of stitches to get it cleaned up but it should be good. You scraped up both knees pretty good taking a swan dive, but you twisted and cut your left knee pretty bad. It's a bad sprain and it took a few stitches to get closed," Bobby said looking at me. I nodded and he continued. "You woke up from a nightmare last night and started screaming at Ranger. That's not unusual given the level of drugs in your system. Ranger pinned you to stop you from beating him up and that jarred your knee. Then you got sick when we tried to give you some Ibuprofen and you threw up a lot. That's when we brought you down here."

"Sorry, Babe," Ranger said.

I looked at him. "Not your fault." I paused and then had to ask. "What happened to your lip?"

Bobby let out a quick bark of laughter and then swallowed it when Ranger glared at him. "You bit me."

"What?"

"You bit me."

I rolled my eyes. "I heard that but I don't remember it."

"Babe."

I'd bitten him hard enough to leave marks and I didn't remember any of it. You can't blame a girl for being curious!

That's when I started yawning.

"You feeling tired, Steph?" Bobby asked. I just nodded.

"Any pain?" I had to think about that for a minute. "Some but it's not terrible."

"I'll get you some OTC meds. Then if you're still feeling okay once you've taken them, I can take out your IV and you can go back up to seven to rest," he said.

Sounded like a plan. I just wanted to sleep now. I took the pills and drifted in and out of sleep for a while. Then Bobby removed the IV and helped Ranger wrap me in a blanket. I'd noticed when I went to the bathroom that I wasn't wearing any pants and I guess Ranger didn't want to carry me around sans bottoms. I appreciated that.

Then Ranger carried me to the elevator and back into his bedroom. He tucked me into his sinfully soft sheets and brushed a kiss against my forehead. He tried to pull his arm away but it was too warm and snuggly and I didn't want him to leave. I snuggled up to his arm and he just sighed. He sat down on the edge of the bed and gently gathered me into his arms. That's how I fell asleep.


	43. Chapter 43

_**Chapter 43: Stephanie's POV**_

I woke up sometime later. I came awake slowly and everything felt peaceful and safe. I was wrapped up in something and warm and cozy. Hmmm, nice. My head was lying on something hard so I lifted my head to look. And looked in Ranger's concerned eyes.

Oh yeah, I remember now. Well, most of it anyways, some of the previous day was still fuzzy. I looked away, feeling vulnerable and embarrassed.

Ranger just tightened his arms around me gently and kissed the top of my head. "It's okay, Babe. You're safe here. I won't let anything happen to you."

"I know," I mumbled.

Ranger was rubbing my back gently with his hands, like you'd soothe a baby, and I relaxed back against him. I could feel his lips moving against my hair but I couldn't hear him say anything.

After a couple moments of lying together like this, I realized I needed the bathroom again. I told Ranger and he lifted me into his arms and carried me into his amazing bathroom. I told him I could manage this time, and I carefully balanced on my less injured leg and was able to take care of business.

I felt really gross and sweaty. I wasn't smelling too sweet either. I'd gotten a washcloth wet and was trying to give myself a bit of a sponge bath when Ranger pulled open the door. "Babe?"

"I feel nasty."

"You had the sweats when you were feeling sick earlier. Let me help you." With that, he took the washcloth out of my hand and lifted me up so I was sitting on his vanity. It was embarrassing to be washed like a child like this but I was just so tired. Ranger gently washed all of my exposed areas and it felt much better. He pulled the t-shirt off of me and I crossed my arms over my chest in embarrassment.

Ranger just shook his head and rewet the washcloth. He washed my arms and chest except for the wrapped area on my right bicep. Then he leaned me forward against his chest and he washed my back. He wrapped a towel around me and disappeared with the sweaty t-shirt. He reappeared a moment late with a clean shirt and helped me into it. This was a side of Ranger that I'd never seen before. He was so incredibly gentle that it brought tears to my eyes.

He noticed. Of course he did, he's Batman for crying out loud. "You in pain, Babe?"

I shook my head no. "Then what's wrong?"

I shrugged. I was fighting back tears and couldn't speak. He lifted me into his arms again and carried me over to the bed. He tucked several pillows behind me and pulled the sheets and blankets up around me.

"You hungry, Babe?" My stomach answered for me and I blushed and looked away. Ranger just chuckled a little and kissed my forehead. He went into the kitchen and was gone for several minutes.

He returned with a tray of food. Sliced strawberries, a banana, yogurt and granola, juice, coffee, and the piece de resistance, two Boston cream donuts on a plate. I smiled and he sat the tray over my lap. I ate the fruit and yogurt, saving the donuts for last. I ate them and pushed the tray away.

I looked up and smiled at Ranger and removed the tray. I could hear him putting away the dishes when the thought struck me.

"Ranger!" I called out. He was by my side in a flash.

"Yeah, Babe?"

"Did anyone tell my parents what happened? They had to have gotten a million phone calls that I'd done it again and they must be panicked!" I was looking around trying to find my cell phone.

Ranger reached out and picked up the hand that was plucking at the sheets. "We told them what happened and that you were here with me. Your mom wasn't happy but there was nothing she could do about it."

"Oh." I thought about that for a moment and then I sighed. "I'm sorry for being so much trouble."

"Babe," the bed dipped as Ranger sat down next to me. "Stop. I'm sorry I put you in danger in the first place. It's my fault."

"No, Ranger, it was that jackass Jackson's fault. I knew what I was getting into and I agreed to help. You're not to blame."

Ranger didn't look convinced. I reached out and squeezed his arm and he captured my hand in his. "I'm serious," I said, trying to convince him. He just squeezed my hand. He looked at me and he looked like he was about to open his mouth when his cell phone rang. He looked over at it in and then looked at me. I gave him a little shove towards his phone.

He stood up, looked at the caller ID and swore under his breath. Then he grabbed the phone and walked into the living room.

"Yes." Hmm, he usually answers with a yo instead.

"Details?" He listened for a long moment.

"No, sir, I can't this time." A pause. Then, "My girl got shot last night and I'm not leaving her yet."

Silence for a while longer. "There's an extenuating circumstances clause in my contract. I'm invoking it. I'll be offline until further notice."

More silence. "She'll be fine, sir. Thank you. Just can't leave yet. I'll call in with an update later."

"Yes, sir."

Holy cow, did he just turn down an assignment for me? He walked back into the room and caught me looking at me. I must have looked confused because he gathered me into his arms and kissed my hair. He seems to have a thing about kissing my hair recently.

"Ranger, did you just turn down an assignment? Over me?"

Ranger didn't move for a long time and I was about to ask him again when he finally spoke. "I would have needed to leave right away and I would have been gone for several weeks at least. I didn't want to leave you." Oh. My. God.

My breath caught in my throat and I shifted to look up at Ranger. "My parents can help me out until I'm back on my feet. You don't have to do this." I was shocked.

"No, Babe. You're hurt because of me. I'm not leaving you."

"Ranger," I warned. "This is not your fault."

He just kissed my hair again. He was ignoring me. Then I asked, "Will you get in trouble?"

I felt Ranger shake his head no. "I've never turned down one before so this won't be a big deal. My handler was just surprised that I said no."

"Oh."

"Babe, I usually get to choose whether to take an assignment or not. They aren't all ordered. Some are, but some are just offered to me. I listen to the details and then decide whether to take it or not. This was one of those situations. I said no, that's the end of it."

The wheels in my head were turning at a supersonic pace. Ranger had never said no to an assignment before, but he'd said no today because of me. Either he was feeling really guilty or he did actually love me.


	44. Chapter 44

_**Chapter 44: Stephanie's POV**_

I just stayed snuggled up against Ranger for a while. After everything that had happened it the last week, it was a lot to process. Ranger had told me that he loved me multiple times. He'd told me that he needed me in his life. He'd said that he'd try having a relationship with me. He'd even turned down an assignment to stay with me.

On the other hand, though, I wasn't the same person I'd been a year ago. Getting away from my family and friends had forced me to become more self-reliant. Tina had been a great help but she was also one tough cookie who'd gone through something similar before. She was there to support me and she'd never said one critical thing, but she also pushed me when I needed it. She'd made me work out, learn to eat fruits and vegetables, some of which I even cooked myself, and get good at organizing things. I'd helped plan a lot of vacations for guests of the inn and I'd even started helping Tina plan weddings, reunions, family gatherings and other events. I learned that I was good at things. I learned that I wasn't as bumbling or as inept as I sometimes seemed to be as a bounty hunter.

I'd learned to be quiet with myself. I didn't need to have the air filled with chatter or music constantly. I'd started reading, thinking. It had been really hard at first, but now I missed having that quiet time alone.

But what would I do if I did decide to move back to New Jersey? I could try to get a job at one of the hotels in Trenton, but I didn't think I really wanted that yet. I felt more confident in my skills as a bounty hunter, especially since I'd managed to take down both Lester and Ranger. Granted, neither expected me to be able to do that, but probably most skips wouldn't expect me to be able to run or kick or punch either.

No, I wasn't ready to go back to bounty hunting. Maybe I would one day or maybe my bounty hunting days were over.

So where did that leave things with Ranger? Sigh, I had no idea.

During my whole period of angst, Ranger just kept me clasped in his arms. He must have used his Batman ESP to know that I wasn't really up for talking right now. It was nice just to be held while I thought.

After a while, I lifted my head off of Ranger's yummy chest. "Ranger, I know you need to do stuff with Rangeman. I'll be fine here if you need to go down to five."

"Babe."

"Seriously, I'll be fine. If you have a spare laptop I could use, I'll email Tina and fill her in. And I could watch videos on Netflix or something. You don't have to babysit me."

"I don't want you left alone."

Eye roll. "Then have Ella or Bobby or Lester or someone come up and sit with me. Oh God, Lester!"

"What about Lester?" Ranger almost growled this. He looked jealous again.

"Not that. I'd promised that I'd call him back last night and I didn't. Does he know what happened?"

Ranger looked at me for a while until I rolled my eyes at him. "He's just a friend, Ranger."

Finally, Ranger answered. "Yeah, he knows. He's on duty today and I'm sure the other guys filled him in."

"Could you have him come up for a few minutes? He was convinced that you were going to kill the both of us last night. I haven't told him yet that you promised not to be mean to him." Ranger shot me an evil glare at me and I laughed.

I pulled myself gingerly out of his arms. "You've been a good nurse, Ranger, but Gotham City needs you."

"Babe."

"Just send Lester up with my cell phone and a laptop, Batman. I'll be fine, I promise." He just kept looking at me, so I decided that I'd fight dirty too. I widened my blue eyes and looked at him with my best puppy dog eyes. "Don't you trust me?"

"Babe." But at least this time he seemed to be listening to me since he let go of me with a sign and stood up. I watched him walk over to his closet and shuck of his sweat pants and t-shirt. Holy Batman! Ranger was naked. Oh God, was I drooling?

Ranger looked up at me and flashed me his big smile. "Babe."

I couldn't resist flirting just a little. "Well, if you want to walk around naked, maybe I could let you take care of me a little bit longer."

"Babe." I just smiled and leaned back to enjoy the show. What? If you ever saw Ranger naked, you'd enjoy the show too!

He pulled on a pair of black cargos- commando!- and then a black Rangeman t-shirt that looked painted on his muscles. Then he leaned down to pick up his boots and I had to check my chin for drool. That man is just yummy. He's so sexy it's not fair.

Once he added his utility belt and various weapons, he came back over and sat down next to me. He kissed me on the forehead and I grabbed his hand to keep him from moving. He had a questioning look on his face to I grabbed his face gently with my hands and placed a very soft kiss on his lower lip.

His eyes darkened slightly and he raised an eyebrow. "I kissed your boo-boo," I explained.

A slight headshake. "Babe." But he was smiling so I didn't care.

"Call if you need anything. I'll send Lester up in a minute."

"Okay. Thanks."

A few minutes later, Lester limped in. "Beautiful!"

"Hey, Lester."

"You wouldn't believe how close I came to having my heart stop last night. You never called me back and then Bobby called to tell me that you'd been shot. You shouldn't do that to a man, Beautiful."

"I'm sorry. Ranger called me just after I hung up the phone with you. They needed me to try to lure a federal fugitive out of a bar. It went FUBAR, of course, and I got hurt a little. I was so out of it on drugs that I didn't even think to call my parents even. I'm sorry I worried you."

"I thought at first that Ranger had shot you." Lester was shaking his head.

"No, no, he'd never hurt me. And he promised not to hurt you either."

"How'd you get him to promise that?" Lester was curious now. It was hard to get Ranger to promise anything.

"That was my condition for helping with the distraction. I told Ranger it was either agree to my terms or he could put on a dress and try to get the guy out!" Lester looked shocked at my daring. I know. It was a little nuts, but the only way I could even potentially think about having a relationship with Ranger was if we were equals. "And he agreed."

Lester just looked at me in awe. I guess it was pretty funny, when you think about it.

"Beautiful, I've never seen another person, let alone a woman, stand up to Ranger like you did. You've always been amazing but I think your time away really did have a big impact on you."

I just smiled. I was glad to know that others had noticed a change in me too.


	45. Chapter 45

_**Chapter 45: Stephanie's POV**_

Two hours later, Ranger came back into his apartment to find Lester and I on the couch laughing at "Ghostbusters". Lester had helped me hobble to the sofa, and I was wrapped in one of Ranger's orgasmic sheets. We'd gotten some popcorn from Ella and debated movies. Ranger didn't have many that didn't involve car chases or explosions, so Lester had gone down to his apartment on five and brought up a selection. I had squealed when I saw "Ghostbusters" since it's one of my favorite movies.

Ranger's face became blank when he saw us sitting on the couch laughing. I was on one end and Lester was on the other, with the big bowl of popcorn in the middle.

"Hi, Ranger," I exclaimed. "Come join us." I pulled the bowl of popcorn into my lap and patted the space between us. Ranger just looked at us and I rolled my eyes at him. He vanished for a few minutes and came back sans utility belt and guns. He scooped me up in his arms, turned around and sat down with me in his lap. Apparently he was feeling a bit miffed again and he wanted to make sure that Lester knew that I was off limits. Geez, were we back in ninth grade again?

I just rolled my eyes at Lester and snuggled into Rangers arms. He gave me an eyebrow waggle and I stuck my tongue out at him. If the two of them were going to act juvenile, there was no reason why I couldn't as well. We made funny faces at each other for a minute until Ranger's arms tightened around me. "Babe."

"He started it."

"Babe." So then I stuck my tongue out at Ranger and he raised an eyebrow.

"You're supposed to make a funny face back at me."

"Babe."

"Seriously, man, is that all you know how to say? We have to work on expanding your vocabulary. Sign you up for the SAT word of the day email or something."

He just sighed and shook his head. I'm a silly person at times, that's just who I am. If he wants me, he'll have to get used to that.

I caught Lester looking at us with a silly grin on his face, so I crossed my eyes at him and he laughed. Then I looked all innocent and looked at Lester, "What's so funny?"

He just snorted his Coke and looked back at the TV.

We finished the movie and Lester and I were debating the relative merits of the Ghostbuster movies versus the Saturday morning cartoons, without Ranger's assistance, when Ella brought up dinner. Lester left and Ranger carried me over to the table. I tried to protest that I could walk but he just ignored me.

The smell of dinner made me ravenous. I looked over at Ranger. "Let me guess, dried twigs with a few berries for dessert?"

Ella laughed. "No, it's paella with spicy cornbread and tres leche cake for dessert." I didn't know what paella was but it sure smelled good! And anytime the word cake is used, I'm a happy girl.

Ranger smiled at the look on my face. I get a dreamy expression on my face when I think of cake. Or Ranger naked. Either is equally yummy.

Ella set a big bowl of some kind of stew in front of me. A small plate had three golden brown cornbread muffins on it. Yum.

She pointed out the big pot on the stove had more paella in it and that there was more cornbread in the bread bowl. The cake was on the kitchen counter should I want any. As if I wouldn't want some!

She left and we dug in. I moaned a little at the spicy, rich taste of the paella. It was a little like Hungarian goulash, but much lighter and spicier. I could get used to eating international like this. It must have been pretty good for us or Ella wouldn't have made it for Ranger.

Then Ranger told me about paella and its history as a Spanish and Latin American food. This version was a healthy Cuban version made with turkey sausage chorizo and shrimp. It was really interesting. Once we finished eating, he looked at me with a raised eyebrow. I was pretty sure he was asking if I wanted any cake. Hello, does he even know me? I just raised my eyebrows back. He stood up, sighed and returned with two plates of cake.

Two? I raised my eyebrows again.

"It's my favorite dessert," he explained. My jaw dropped open. Did Batman just admit to liking a dessert?

Ranger laughed at that and used his fork to get a small bite of the cake. Then he put it in my open mouth and I moaned at the taste of the rich cake. It was my new favorite dessert too! Don't tell my mom, her pineapple upside cake was a close second.

I opened my eyes and grabbed for my piece of cake. He just laughed at me and watched me enjoy Ella's masterpiece.


	46. Chapter 46

_**Chapter 46: Stephanie's POV**_

I spent the next two days while my knee healed with Ranger. He worked in his office in his apartment most of the time, but he did have to go down to five several times for various things. One must have been a business meeting because I watched him get dressed in a black on black pinstriped suit with a black shirt and a black tie. Corporate Ranger, yum.

Anytime he left, he sent up someone to stay with me. I still had some problems hobbling around but it wasn't too bad. I didn't need a babysitter, but Ranger would just put on his blank face and then one of the Merry Men would be at the door two minutes later. It was usually Lester or Bobby.

Bobby would always check on my knee and my assorted stitches. He had just left ten minutes earlier when I threatened to find one of Ranger's guns and shoot him if he didn't get out right that minute. I was tired of having people hovering constantly. It had been nice for a day or two but I was to the point where I was going nuts sitting in Ranger's apartment.

I needed some alone time, which I couldn't have with either Ranger or one of his guys watching my every move like a hawk. I didn't need Ranger or one of his ESP clones to know what I was thinking.

Since we'd had that fight in the park, Ranger hadn't tried to kiss me. He hadn't told me he loved me and he hadn't said anything more about us. He'd asked me to dinner on Thursday night, but Thursday night passed with Ella bringing up dinner as usual. Maybe he forgot.

I got the feeling that he was pulling away from me. I couldn't figure out if it was because of the things I'd said or because I'd gotten hurt. My instincts were telling me that it was because I'd been hurt. I'd tried multiple times to tell Ranger that it wasn't his fault. He'd just nod but he never looked convinced. Knowing him, he probably was blaming himself for my injuries, but I didn't blame him. I knew that there's always a risk anytime I did a distraction, and I agreed knowing the risks.

I spent about an hour mulling on this when I felt a tingle up my spine and the door opened. A year away had dulled my ability to sense Batman, but the time with him had brought my Spidey skills back. I knew it was Ranger before I saw him. And I knew something was wrong. It was just the look around his eyes. I couldn't pinpoint it but there was something going on with him.

He just nodded at me and went to change out of his suit. He came back in wearing lounge pants and a t-shirt, all black of course. Does the man even own anything with any color in it?

He sat at the other end of the couch from me and turned on the TV. Okay enough of this crap. He'd been pulling farther and farther away and I was tired of it.

I snatched the remote out of his hand and turned it off. He looked at me with raised eyebrows.

"You going to tell me what's wrong now?" I asked but it wasn't really a question, and I knew Ranger knew that I wasn't asking.

"Nothing." Yeah, right. Whatever.

"Try again."

"Babe."

"You were saying?"

He sighed. I watched as the blank mask came down over his face and I knew it wasn't going to be something that I would like. Alright, hold it together, Stephanie. You can do this.

"You were right," he finally said.

"Good to know. What was I right about?"

"That we should only be friends."

I'd suspected that it would be something like this, but man, it really hurt to hear him say that he didn't want me.

"Why do you say that?" I needed to know why he'd had a change of heart. Just a couple of days ago, he was begging me to give him a chance and kissing me like his life depended on it. Now he was ready to just be friends. What. The. Hell.

"That's just the way it has to be." I remembered those words from before. I noticed a little muscle flickering in his jaw and I knew that he remembered them too. Did he say it that way on purpose or had it just come out?

"Is it because I got hurt?"

"That's just how it is, Stephanie." Okay, now I was getting pissed.

"What the hell does that mean, Ranger? Stop being so damn cryptic and just tell me what's going on here. You were begging me to give you a chance a few days ago and now you're telling me you changed your mind? Give me a break!"

"I thought maybe I could try a relationship for you but I realize now that I can't. My life doesn't…" I started to laugh at this point and I think Ranger looked a little surprised but his blank face was still on.

"If you tell me that your life doesn't lend itself to relationships, Ranger, I will shoot you."

He just sat there. Apparently that was what he was about to say.

"Fine," I practically snarled as I pulled myself up, trying to be careful with my sprained knee. "You tell yourself that not calling it a relationship will make it better somehow. You tell yourself that saying we're just friends will make it easier for either one of us if we're hurt or worse. You don't want to tell me the truth, that's fine. But remember this, Ranger, when you come home to your lonely, empty bed. My bed won't be empty for long. I've got a lot to offer a man and it's more than just sex."

He just looked at me. "I think it's because I got hurt and you can't deal with it. Well, guess what, I'm a grown woman and I agreed to help knowing the risks. You've been hurt because of me before, hell, I've gotten half your Merry Men hurt because of me. But that doesn't mean that I can't still care about them. So you lock every emotion away, Ranger. I refuse to live a life like that."

Still no response. Fine, fuck him. He wasn't worth the tears that I knew I'd shed for him. I grabbed my purse off the coffee table and hobbled out of the room. I stabbed the button for the elevator.

The elevator opened and Ranger stuck his arm in as it was closing. "Babe, don't be angry. I just can't handle seeing you hurt."

"Ranger, this is what them problem comes down to. Listen carefully. You only think about what you want, you only think about what you think is best for me. You don't ask me, you don't listen to me. It's all about you." I stared at him for a moment. "And I deserve better than that."

I pushed his arm out of the elevator and punched the button for five.

_**Author's note:**__ What, you didn't think I'd make it easy for them did you? _

_Insert evil laugh Oh no, Ranger's gotta work for it. Ending with a happily ever after here would be letting him off far, far too easily._

_You know the drill. Reviews, thoughts and opinions, please!_


	47. Chapter 47

_**Author's note: **__Sorry for the delay. My sister in law was in a car wreck this weekend and I got preoccupied with that. Hope you enjoy!_

_**Chapter 47: Stephanie's POV**_

I held on to my fury for the few seconds it took for the elevator to move down two floors and open. Lester saw me and came hobbling over.

"Beautiful, you okay?"

"Lester, just take me home. Please."

He just looked at me for a moment. "He was an ass again, wasn't he?" It was a rhetorical question so I didn't answer. Lester sighed and nodded. "Let me get my phone."

Lester was back in a moment and he got on the elevator with me. I could see the other guys looking at me curiously but they must have figured out that it wasn't time for them to talk to me.

We got to the basement and Lester and I supported each other as we hobbled out. I looked around. I didn't see my old beat up CR-V anywhere. "Where's my car?" I asked him.

"Ranger had it dropped off at your mom's house." I nodded.

"Can you take me there then, please?"

Lester looked at me for a moment. "No, you'll stay at my house tonight. I don't think you're in any shape to deal with your family just yet."

I just nodded. He was right and I was too tired to argue. Lester helped me into his black SUV and he drove me to his house. As he drove, I thought it was ironic that I was about to spend my second night at Lester's house but I still had no idea where Ranger lived. He said that he'd take me to the Batcave but obviously he was still too stupid to get that I'm not a pretty little pet to be protected. I'm a person with my own feelings and my own opinions.

Apparently Ranger just couldn't accept that.

I could feel the looks that Lester shot at me but I wasn't in the mood to talk. He was more sensitive than I gave him credit for, he didn't push me. He just helped me out of the car when he got to his house and held my hand as we walked inside. He walked me to the couch and pulled out the video games. He put in some war game and handed me the controller.

"Looks like you need to blow some things up." Lester is a smart man. I might still introduce him to Tina if he keeps being nice.

I shot people and blew things up for a while until the doorbell rang. Lester came back with more pizza and I followed my nose to the kitchen. We ate in silence. I didn't want to talk, I was afraid I'd fall apart and I really didn't want to do that.

I was blowing up more cars, kind of enjoying the fact that I was blowing them up rather than having them blown up around me, when I heard Lester's phone ring.

"Yo." I looked up at him and he mouthed "Ranger" at me. Then he pointed at the phone asking if I wanted to talk to him. I frantically shook my head no.

"She's here but she doesn't want to talk to you. I don't know what you said or did to hurt her again, cuz, but you need to man up."

Lester pulled the phone away from his ear and covered it with his hand. "He wants to talk to you."

I must have shot him a look that clearly conveyed that I did not want to talk to him because he shook his head and spoke into the phone. "She doesn't want to talk to you."

He listened for a minute. "I'm not your damn secretary." He listened a little more then sighed. "He says he's sorry for being an ass."

Lester rolled his eyes at me and I flipped a bird at the phone. "She responded with a hand gesture. Want me to explain it to you?"

"She's already beat the shit out of me once and I'm not going to piss her off again. Beautiful's got some moves. If she wants to talk to you, she'll call you." Whatever Ranger replied pissed him off because I saw his jaw clench and his free hand curl into a fist.

"Because we're family, I'm going to ignore that this once. I'm offline until further notice, on medical leave." Lester hung up the phone.

"What did he say to you?" I asked Lester.

"Accused me of wanting you for myself, that ass. I don't know why he can't see that while I do love you, it's only as a friend."

I nodded. "He gets jealous. And you're the one who said he didn't use logic when thinking about me."

Lester just snorted. "Damn skippy." Then he looked at me for a moment. "You don't have to unless you want to, but do you want to tell me what happened tonight?"

I sighed. Lester had just taken time off from his job because of me, the least I owed him was an explanation. "Same old, same old. After the fight when he crashed our dinner, I told him I'd think about considering a relationship with him. Then there was the distraction and I got hurt and he started pulling away again. Told me tonight that I was right, we should only be friends, that his life doesn't lend itself to relationships. God, I was such an idiot to even think about starting anything with him!"

Lester nodded. "Yep, my cousin is an ass. I hope it doesn't run in the family!"

I smiled, Lester was trying to make me feel better. "No sign of ass-iness in you, so far."

Lester pretended mock outrage and turned around and stuck his ass in my face. "I'll have you know I have a killer ass!"

I just patted his killer ass and chuckled. I loved Lester! "It's a pretty good ass." He glared at me, so I patted his tushy again. "Okay, it's a killer ass!"

"Thank you," Lester smiled as he sat down on his killer ass. "So what's the game plan, Beautiful?"

I sighed again. I'm doing a lot of that lately. "I guess I'll go home tomorrow and then start driving back to NC. I don't think I'm ready to wait for Ranger to jump out of the shadows and break my heart again."

"How about if I call your mom and have her pack up your stuff. We can swing by and get it and I'll drive you back to NC. I want to meet your twin!" Lester shot a lecherous look at me.

"Don't forget, Tina's been in kickboxing classes with me! You get out of line with her and she'll make your current injuries look like a paper cut!" Lester just laughed at me, waggling his eyebrows suggestively. I thought a bit about his suggestion.

"But what about my car?"

"We'll drive yours down, take turns. Then you get me to an airport once I'm done with my medical leave and I'll have Bobby bring me back here."

"Why would you do that, though? That's a lot of driving and stuff." I was unsure, I didn't want to be a burden.

"I spent some time in North Carolina at Fort Bragg with the 82nd Airborne before I went to Ranger School at Fort Benning in Georgia. It was a beautiful place, be nice to visit again. And there's your twin, Beautiful!"

I just laughed at Lester and gave him a light punch in the arm with my non-wounded left arm. He rubbed at his arm and pouted a little. "Why are you always beating me up?"

I had to laugh at him, he was a good friend. "Okay, you win. No more punching, I promise. And if you really want to go with me, I'd be happy to have the company."

He wrapped one arm around my shoulders. "So, tell me about your friend…" I giggled and complied.


	48. Chapter 48

_**Chapter 48: Stephanie's POV**_

I spent most of the night crying, but Lester dragged me out of bed early so we could get on the road. He was excited about a road trip that didn't involve eating twigs and berries and spending hours doing surveillance, and he was very intrigued by my stories about Tina. He was already a little smitten.

My parents and grandma were a little sad to see me going again especially since I was still recovering, but I stood firm an d refused to let my mother intimidate me. She tried, though, she tried to put the mother of all guilt trips on me but I was able to get my belongings and get out thanks to Lester's presence. He charmed both my mother and grandmother and swore on bended knee that he would not let any harm come to me. Why couldn't I have fallen for him instead?

Since both of us were walking wounded, Lester's right foot broken from my stiletto, and my left knee swollen like crazy from the sprain, we took lots of rest breaks. It took three days to get to NC but we had a wild and crazy time eating lots of greasy junk food and detouring to see weird things along the way. There were several times that I asked myself why I couldn't love Lester instead of Ranger, but even thought he was hot, I didn't get all tingly when he looked at me or even when he kissed me on my nose and tugged on my hair. I loved him, but like a brother, just as he loved me as a sister. Too bad, he really did have a killer ass!

We finally pulled into the inn late on the third day. My abs hurt from laughing at Lester's antics so much and I was really, really hoping that he and Tina hit it off. They'd be perfect for each other!

I was driving since Lester had no clue where we were going and I drove around to the duplex. I promised him a tour tomorrow but there wasn't much to see since it was so late. Tina heard me come in and she came rushing over to see me. She was shocked to see Lester with me and I could see her trying to figure it out.

"You must be Ranger," she said, walking over to shake Lester's hand.

He took her hand in his and kissed it. "I'm his much better cousin, Lester Santos. Mucho gusto, querida." Lester had turned on all of his charm and I could tell that Tina was just a tiny bit confused and flustered.

I pushed Lester away and smacked him on his killer ass. "Get our stuff in, you Latin lothario!" He shot me a look that promised retribution later and kissed Tina's hand again before heading out to haul in our stuff.

Tina just looked at me and fanned her face. "I thought you were going back to see Ranger, but you brought his cousin home with you. What gives?"

I hobbled to the couch and Tina was instantly beside me helping me hobble. "How are you feeling?"

I settled on the couch and she sat next to me. I pulled my hair back into a ponytail like hers and started telling her the story.

"Lester is Ranger's cousin and he's a co-owner at Rangeman. Ranger owns the majority but Lester is like the third in charge there after Ranger and Tank. He's a hottie too, isn't he?" I asked Tina as I nudged her with my foot.

She just blushed and looked away. I knew it! She thought Lester was a hottie. I'm good at this matchmaking thing.

So I told her all about my various discussions with Ranger, the distraction, his behavior afterwards. By the end of it Lester was watching as Tina was practically vibrating with rage. If Ranger had been there, Tina would have launched herself at his throat. She was a good friend.

Lester just stood there staring at us with his jaw hanging open. Tina noticed it first. "What?" she asked him.

"Oh God, Beautiful, you weren't lying! You two look like sisters! Like twins from a distance." We both just laughed, we'd heard that a lot before. I'd teased Lester about our similarities but I was telling the truth, we did look very similar except for our eyes. Mine are blue, Tina's are brown. My hair is a little darker and more curly than Tina's. Tina's a little curvier than me, a size 8 to my size 6.

We chatted for a while and then decided to catch up on the "Burn Notice" episodes I'd TiVoed. Lester sat down between us, put an arm around each of us and declared himself the stuffing in a Bombshell sandwich. I smacked him, explained the joke to Tina and then she smacked him too.

Lester spent the entire time watching "Burn Notice" telling us what was wrong with the show and how they'd not actually do things like that in a covert ops. He kept claiming that he was a covert ops specialist as an ex-Ranger and that he knew these things. Tina and I kept digging our elbows into his side and shushing him, but he kept up a running commentary.

I could see the smile on his face and the glances he kept shooting at Tina. Lester was in looooove!

I was finally to the point where I was about to pass out. Tina noticed and turned off the TV as she prepared to leave. Lester insisted on walking her home and wouldn't take no for an answer. She lived on the other side of the wall, but Lester still walked her to her front door before coming back.

I was hobbling up the stairs when Lester came back in. He gave me a blinding smile and rushed up to pick me up. He put me down at the top of the stairs and I was laughing at him. "Hey, you're hurt too, remember!"

"I could walk on water, Beautiful! She's really great, you were right." I just smiled. Of course I was right!

I got ready and went to bed. Lester had brought an air mattress and insisted he would be fine with it. I tried to argue but he just gave me a look of disbelief. "You do know that I was in the Rangers too, right Beautiful? I'm a badass too! I've slept on way worse than a cushy soft mattress, I'll be fine!"

It was easy to remember that Ranger and even Tank were badass ex-special forces, but I'd had such a good time hanging out with Lester that I'd let that slip my mind. He'd been with me on a bunch of take downs of skips before and I knew he was very good at being big and scary when he wanted to be. But he was also funny, sweet and charming so I guess I forgot about that.

I humbly apologized and told him he was a big scary badass and I'm sorry that I forgot that. He nodded in satisfaction, puffing his chest out. He flipped me the bird when I called out, "Goodnight, Michael Weston!"

He was mumbling something as he walked away, sounded kind of like "bunch of TV wimps."

I just laughed.


	49. Chapter 49

_**Chapter 49: Stephanie's POV**_

I pouted a little the next day and claimed that my knee was too swollen from the trip to NC to take Lester on a tour, so I convinced Tina to take him around the inn and the area for me. Lester just winked at me as he walked out with Tina, he knew my knee was getting better. I just wanted the two of them to have time to get to know each other a little better.

Now that my location wasn't a secret anymore, I started emailing my friends and family back in New Jersey. Lula was kind of pissed that I'd left without saying goodbye, but I explained that I'd needed to get back and my injuries had held me up so much. She wrote back that she didn't believe me, that Tank had said that Ranger had fucked up again and that he was going around like a bear with a sore head growling at everyone. Rumor was that I had eloped with Lester.

I told Lester this when he got back that night and he just groaned. He went down on one knee and asked Tina for a job at the inn too since Ranger would kill him when he got back. He could be head of security. Tina and I just giggled at his antics, and Tina promised to consider it. I reminded him that Ranger never breaks a promise and that he'd promised to be nice to Lester. Lester just shot me a disbelieving glance and shook his head.

We spent two weeks like this, hanging out and having a good time together when I wasn't working. I'd made some friends in North Carolina, but Tina was my only close friend. It was too awkward lying to someone about my name and past so I hadn't made all that many good friends. It was nice to have Lester around too, but it made me realize how much I missed having lots of friends around.

Lester and Tina seemed to be growing closer and Lester had not mentioned returning to Trenton yet, but I knew he'd have to sooner or later. He'd finally asked Tina out on a real date and I'd never seen Tina so nervous when she was trying to figure out what to wear.

Since we were similar sizes, I brought out the blue dress from the night I'd beaten up Lester and convinced her to wear it since it was made out of stretchy material and it would fit her. I knew that Lester would get a kick out of it, but also that memories of that night might help him to be a gentleman.

I helped Tina with her hair and makeup and she looked amazingly hot in my dress. The look on Lester's face was priceless when he saw her in that dress and he started laughing. He gave us both a kiss on the cheek and promised to not grab anyone. He remembered my kickboxing demonstration and didn't want to have a repeat. I told him that Tina was way better at it than I was and that he'd better behave. He turned a little green at that, but he recovered quickly. He offered Tina his arm and helped her into my CR-V that Lester was borrowing for their date this evening. They honked at me and then they were gone.

About an hour later, one of our part-time workers called me. I usually made the staffing schedules and I was the contact person for changes or emergencies. She had some sort of a stomach bug and wouldn't be able to make it for her 8 pm to midnight shift. I grabbed my purse and a couple of books, and walked up to the inn. My knee was much better now and I could borrow one of the company trucks to drive home after midnight.


	50. Chapter 50

_**Chapter 50: Ranger's POV**_

Ranger had realized as soon as the elevator doors had closed that he was being an idiot again. He had loved having Stephanie with him despite the fact that she was injured. Then he started blaming himself for her injuries and he pushed he away. He thought, stupidly, that pushing her away would protect her and that it would protect his heart.

Her comment about his bed being lonely and hers being filled cut him to the quick. He could believe that she'd find someone else quickly, she was so beautiful and smart and funny. Any man would be lucky to have her love.

Tank had told him that Lester had taken Stephanie to his house again. That made Ranger jealous, that maybe Stephanie had already found his replacement with his cousin. He'd called Lester but Stephanie had refused to speak with him. He'd planned to give her a day or two to calm down before he tried to explain his idiotic behavior. He'd had no idea that she'd leave again, with his damn cousin.

He'd waited two weeks but neither his cousin nor Stephanie would return his calls. Finally, he booked a flight into Charlotte, North Carolina, the nearest major airport, and booked a rental car with GPS to get him to Stephanie's inn.

He was frustrated when he finally made it to Charlotte. A string of storms in New Jersey had delayed his flight three times, and he was arriving nearly six hours later than he'd planned. By the time he got his rental car, he was nearly growling in frustration and annoyance. They didn't have the black SUV that he'd requested so he was stuck with a red Mustang. He had nothing against a red Mustang, but he always drove black luxury vehicles.

It took him two hours to make it up the twisting mountain roads to the town that his Babe now called home. He stopped on the quaint main street and refresh himself before seeing Stephanie again and was shocked to see her CR-V pull into a parking place far in front of his own parking spot. He gripped the steering wheel tightly as he saw his cousin get out and hurry over to the passenger side.

He saw Stephanie step out wearing the beautiful blue dress that she'd been wearing the night she'd beat up Lester at the club. Her hair was left in soft curls, the soft curls that he'd loved running his hands through. He was glad that they didn't look back at him, he didn't think he could handle seeing joy at being with Lester on her beautiful face.

He saw them walk into a dimly lit English pub, Lester's arm draped possessively over her shoulders.

Ranger was cursing his own stupidity for letting Stephanie go, for pushing her into another man's arms. He couldn't blame Stephanie for moving on, she deserved better than him, she deserved more than he could offer her. But his cousin? That would make the rare family gatherings he attended awkward, seeing his cousin with the woman he loved.

He drove up and down the main street several times. He stopped at a small park far away from the pub where Stephanie and Lester was and just walked around and thought. He'd plan to see the inn that Stephanie loved, give Stephanie and Lester his blessing if they were happy together and then he'd call his government handler and volunteer for the longest possible mission outside of the United States.

He drove back down the main street one more time and saw Stephanie and Lester sharing an ice cream cone in front of an ice cream shop. He saw Lester lean in for a lingering kiss until someone started whistling. Stephanie buried her head in Lester's chest and laughed.

Ranger's heart broke, shattering into a million pieces. He was too late.

He followed the GPS directions to the inn and parked his red Mustang in the lot. He walked into a welcoming lobby and looked around curiously. There was no one there and he waited semi-patiently. He finally dinged a little bell sitting on a desk and felt his jaw dropped when Stephanie, dressed in gray slacks and a black top, walked into the room with a welcoming smile.


	51. Chapter 51

_**Chapter 51: Stephanie's POV**_

Crap, someone's out front. I jumped up from my cozy little office and walked into the lobby. "Welcome to the Dragonfly Inn…" my voice trailed off.

Ranger? What was he doing here?

His jaw dropped and he looked even more surprised to see me than I was to see him. He looked back behind him and then back at me like he couldn't believe that I was there. I work here, live here, why would he come all the way to North Carolina and then be surprised to see me?

Oh, God, something must have happened. "Ranger, what is it? It is my mom? My dad? Oh no, it's my grandma Mazur, isn't it?"

He just stared at me. "How?" he asked.

"What happened?" I was practically shrieking. "Tell me!"

"Stephanie, what's wrong? What happened?" Tina asked, running into the lobby when they heard me yelling.

"Beautiful, what is it?" Lester asked. His hand was reaching towards his gunless hip out of habit. He skidded to a stop when he saw Ranger standing there in shock. Tina crashed into his back with an ooph.

I rushed over to Lester and Tina, clutching their hands. "Is it my grandma? Is she okay?" I was shaking with fear, I couldn't bear thinking of anything bad happening to my grandma. She was crazy but I loved her.

"What?" Ranger was looking from me to Tina. Tina had wrapped her arms around me and was holding me up. I was so scared that my legs had gone weak.

Suddenly, Lester started laughing. Tina and I turned to glare at him. I had tears running down my face and he's laughing? I take back all the nice things I'd ever thought about him!

Lester walked over to Ranger and smacked him hard on the back of his head. He pushed him into a chair and walked back over to me. Tina and Lester helped me over to a chair across from Ranger and I sat down with a thud. Tina perched on the arm of the chair, holding my hand.

"Ladies, I bet Ranger saw me and Tina and thought it was me and Stephanie," Lester chuckled. "So he was trying to figure out how you could be in two places at once, Steph."

I was watching Ranger and I saw him nod wordlessly.

"So everyone's really okay back home?" I asked, just to make sure. Ranger nodded again.

I collapsed back into my chair. "Oh thank God." Tina was rubbing my hands between hers. Ranger was staring at the two of us in shock and Lester was laughing at the look on Ranger's face.

"I told you we looked alike," I reminded Ranger, who just nodded with his eyes wide. Lester looked like he was about to pee in his pants from laughing so hard and Tina and I were giggling a little. I was giggling out of relief that my parents and grandma were okay.

The longer he looked at us like that, with the wide-eyed look of a little kid at Christmas, the more we giggled. Tina lost her balance and slid off the arm of my chair into my lap laughing, and I just held onto her to keep her from sliding into the floor.

Ranger finally gave himself a little shake and snapped out of it. "From a distance, you two could be twins. When I saw her kissing Lester…." he trailed off.

I looked at Tina and started laughing again. "Kissing, huh? Lester and Tina sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Lester wrapped one hand around my mouth to keep me from continuing my song and I playfully bit his hand. He picked up Tina out of my lap and kissed her quickly on the lips.

Even Ranger smiled a little at my nursery school song and Lester's antics.

"When you had that look on your face, I was sure you were here to give me bad news." My heart was still racing, but now it was because it was corporate classy Ranger in front of me, dressed in black slacks with a nice black polo shirt. He still looked yummy.

"Just need to talk to you, Babe." At least he could talk again. Wait, that could be a bad thing, I don't want to talk to him.

I looked away from his beautiful brown eyes. "I think we've said quite enough to each other, don't you?" That was a rhetorical question and I didn't wait for an answer. I stood up and walked away. I caught Tina's eyes as I was leaving and she nodded at me. She'd take care of Ranger.

I slipped out the back and grabbed the keys to the inn's truck. I was back in my duplex in a few minutes. I really needed to think.


	52. Chapter 52

**Chapter 52: Ranger, Lester and Tina's POV**

Ranger was flabbergasted. There could have been a shortcut that the GPS didn't know about, but he'd seen her kissing Lester in a blue dress only ten minutes earlier. There's no way that she could have beaten him back and changed clothes in only ten minutes.

Ranger's brain was going at warp speed, trying to figure out how on Earth Stephanie could be standing in front of him now when he'd just seen her in Lester's arms. What? How?

Then Stephanie was yelling at him but he was too discombulated to understand what she was asking. Then he heard another voice and Stephanie ran across the room and grabbed Stephanie's hand? What the…?

Lester, the cousin he was previously ready to murder, just started laughing uproariously. He smacked Ranger upside the head, something that very few people would every try, and forced Ranger into a chair. Ranger was in shock.

Ranger watched as Lester helped the two Stephanies over to a chair. How could there be TWO of them? Surely the world could only handle one Stephanie Plum.

Finally, Lester was able to explain to the confused Ranger and two Stephanies. Since the girls looked so much alike, Ranger had mistakenly thought that Lester and Stephanie were kissing rather than Lester and Tina.

Ranger watched in shock as blue dress Stephanie slid into the lap of the gray slacks Stephanie because she laughed so hard she lost her balance. They were both laughing at him. As Ranger looked at the two women in front of him, he started noticing differences. Notably, Stephanie had beautiful blue eyes while the other woman, Tina?, had very pretty hazel brown eyes. Stephanie's face was more angular and her hair was a few shades darker and quite a bit curlier. Tina was curvier than Stephanie and a maybe a size larger. When they were side by side, you could see the differences, but from a distance, they'd pass as twins.

Stephanie, the real one, his Babe, started singing that silly song about kissing, which made Ranger smile a bit. He was recovering from his shock at learning that his Babe was living with her twin when he told Stephanie #1 that he needed to talk to her. Her smile faded and she told him that there was nothing more to say. Before he could formulate an argument or even just apologize for being an ass, she was gone.

Stephanie #2, Tina he was assuming, walked over to him with questions in her eyes. "I take it you're Ranger?" she asked.

Ranger stood and nodded. "Carlos Manoso, but most people call me Ranger." He shook her hand.

"I'm Tina Richards, Stephanie's friend and the managing owner of the Dragonfly Inn." Now that I'd had the chance to study her, I could pick out lots of differences but when I first saw her from a distance wearing Stephanie's dress, I had assumed it was Stephanie.

"Now, as Stephanie's friend, I have to ask why are you here? If you're going to hurt her again, you can just leave now." She was feisty with her hands on her hips, just like Stephanie. Most people were intimidated by Ranger, but here was this girl telling him off. Apparently she and Stephanie were alike in more than just looks.

Ranger shot a glance at Lester, who just shrugged. "They're good friends, and I guess Steph has told Tina most of the story. And you don't want to piss off either of these ladies! Trust me!" He pointed at his broken foot in the walking boot.

Ranger watched as Tina turned back to smile at Lester, but her smiled faded when she fixed her brown eyes on Ranger again. "Well?"

Ranger wasn't sure what to say. He was a private man, and years serving in the special forces hadn't exactly turned him into a chatty Cathy.

Lester looked at him with a bit of sympathy. "You better answer her. Tina is a mama bear when it comes to Steph and she won't let you see her cub unless she's convinced that you won't hurt her." Lester shot Ranger a pointed look. "Again."

Well, Ranger figured he deserved that. He'd certainly screwed up enough times with Stephanie that any true friend of hers would be leery of helping him.

"If you know the sordid story, then you know that I'm an idiot. I'm trying to be less of an idiot but I love Stephanie and I need to convince her that," Ranger told Tina.

Ranger heard Lester suck in a breath at hearing his declaration and Tina's eyes softened slightly.

"Okay, so you love her. What are you planning to do about it?" Tina wasn't convinced that he wouldn't end up hurting Stephanie again.

Ranger's blank face appeared. Tina was startled at the difference and could instantly see why Stephanie hated it so much. The man looked like a robot, granted a hot robot, but there was no emotion on his face.

"So you're here to tell her that you love… and what? That even though you love her, your life doesn't work with a relationship?" Ranger just stood silently, no expression showing on his face. "If that's the case, then you can go on back to whatever rock you crawled out from under."

Lester sniggered in the background, but Ranger never took his eyes off of Tina. He raised one eyebrow and Tina raised hers in return. "I just call them as I see them, Mr. Manoso."

It was Lula's attitude in Stephanie's body. Astounding.

Ranger glanced at Lester who was turning purple in an effort not to laugh at loud. It was not a good look on him.

Ranger sent his most intimidating glare at Tina but she just started tapping her foot, waiting on him to answer.

"Don't you look at me like that, mister, this is your problem and I'm only trying to protect my friend, the woman you say that you love. If you really love her, you'll understand why I'm trying to keep her from getting hurt again."

When Ranger didn't answer, Tina continued. "Did Stephanie tell you that my daddy was a Navy SEAL? I spent my whole childhood around special ops guys way scarier than you, so don't even try to scare me. You tell me what I need to know or get out of my inn. Your choice, Mr. Manoso."

Ranger didn't have a reply to that. He did love Stephanie and he'd never want to see her hurt. And apparently her friend really was a mama bear and couldn't be intimidated by him. There must be something about curly-haired brunettes that made them impervious to his intimidation.

Tina just crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Ranger, looking so much like Stephanie that Ranger's heart beat a little quicker. Ranger realized that it would be much harder to find Stephanie in all of the rooms and cottages without Tina's help, so he relented.

"I've never really been in a relationship before. I don't know how to do it." Lester did laugh at that and Ranger sent him a death glare. Lester stopped laughing and stared studiously at the floor.

"So go buy yourself a copy of Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus if you're clueless. Tell me why you need Stephanie in your life." Tina was implacable. Until she got an acceptable answer, Carlos Manoso would rot in hell before he'd help him find Stephanie. Ranger just glared at her.

Lester was staring so hard at the floor that he was surprised that holes hadn't appeared in it yet. He was enjoying hearing his girl put Ranger in his place but he valued his life too much laugh. And he knew he'd be laughing if he saw the look on Ranger's face, so he just stared at the oak floor.

Ranger was taken aback by Tina's demand and he was considering his options when the lyrics to an old Kenny Rogers song popped into his head. "You gotta know when to hold 'em, when to fold 'em and when to walk away." Stephanie meant too much for him to walk away and holding out on Tina wasn't getting him anywhere. The only thing left to do was to give in to the demands of the fiery brunette in front of him.

"I love her. I can't imagine a life without her. I keep pushing her away like an ass but I just need her in my life. Please tell me where to find her so I can tell her this. She's the one who needs to hear it." He flashed his 200-watt smile at Tina and waited.

Tina was surprised by his answer and his smile. Her eyes widened and she tapped her foot as she thought about it. "She was right. You are hot." Ranger smirked at Lester. "And you are an idiotic ass." Ranger's smile faded but Lester's grew wider.

"Tell you what, you can stay in one of the rooms in the inn tonight. I'll talk to Stephanie tomorrow. Then if, and only if, she wants to talk to you, then she will find you."

Ranger nodded. This was the best he could expect from the protective woman in front of him. He was glad Stephanie had friends like this. Hell, he wished he had friends like this!

Tina added one caveat. "But if I see you sneaking around trying to find her, I just might shoot you myself. Or call in all of my Special Forces buddies from Bragg and let them use you as target practice."

Lester was openly laughing now, unable to keep his laughter contained.

Ranger shot Tina a look and Tina smiled. "I'm glad we understand each other, Mr. Manoso."

She stalked over to the desk and started typing on the computer. She made him a key card and walked back over, her heels clicking on the hardwood floors.

"You're in room 112. Welcome to the Dragonfly Inn." She slapped the key card in his hand and walked over to Lester, who was shaking and choking with barely suppressed laughter. "Goodnight, Mr. Manoso," she called out as he grabbed his overnight bag and started up the stairs.

Lester buried his face into Tina's neck to muffle his guffaws while Tina allowed herself a wide smile.


	53. Chapter 53

_**Chapter 53: Stephanie's POV**_

I plopped down on the couch, avoiding Lester's inflated mattress and scattered piles of stuff. For a man who'd lived in a single set of clothes for weeks on end, or so he claimed, he sure had a lot of crap!

I couldn't believe Ranger was here. Yeah, he'd left messages asking me to call him but I wasn't ready to talk to him again. Maybe never. I'd left for Trenton completely convinced that anything more than friendship wasn't in the cards for Ranger and me. He'd tried to convince me otherwise. And then just as I was starting to think it _might_ be worth considering, he pushes me away again.

Men!

I was still trying to figure out what possible reason Ranger could have for coming to North Carolina when I heard a knock on the door. My heart seized in my chest, only to resume again when I heard Tina's voice.

I yelled for them to come in and Tina walked in followed by a still sniggering Lester. Thank God Ranger was nowhere in sight.

Lester sprawled out on his airbed while Tina and I took our normal positions on the couch. "What's so funny, Chuckles?" I asked Lester.

He just pointed at Tina and kept laughing, so I turned my inquisitive gaze towards my friend.

"Ranger is hot, you were right," that got a glare from Lester, "and he is an ass. Man tried to give an intimidating stare down." I had to laugh at that part. Tina had enjoyed my stories about Ranger and his Merry Men convincing criminals to turn themselves in with just a look. Tina had a pretty good evil look herself, and I knew not to cross her when she got that expression on her face.

"I'm sure that didn't go well," I remarked.

Lester burst out laughing. "Nope," he replied, "she put him right in his place! Threatened to shoot him if he was out looking for you, or to invite her Special Forces friends down for target practice."

Tina just smiled at Lester. "I give all service members a great discount to thank them for their service, and word has gotten out at Bragg. We have a lot of the 82nd or Green Beret guys here with their wives and girlfriends," she explained to Lester. I just nodded. I'd met a lot of soldiers working at the inn.

"She was asking him all kinds of questions about his intentions towards you, like she's your daddy, and told him that he could either answer or leave her inn," Lester managed to explain between laughing fits. "Ranger couldn't believe that another tiny brunette was standing up to him! His badass image is gonna be gone if this gets out!"

Tina just put on a look of wide-eyed innocence as if to say "who, me?"

Lester continued, "she told him to buy that Mars-Venus book if he needed help with relationships!"

I looked at Tina in awe. I'd stood up to Ranger more than almost anyone else I knew but I knew he could be scary as hell when he wanted to be.

Tina reached out to take my hand. "Steph, he said that he loves you, he knows he's been an idiot, he needs you in his life and that he's here to convince you of those facts. I told him he could stay tonight, he's in 112, and that you'd find him if and when you wanted to talk to him."

She saw the stricken look on my face and smiled. "And I made it clear that he was not to try to find you! Or he'll end up with a .357-sized hole in his ass!"

"So you can just think about things tonight and talk to Mr. Badass tomorrow if you want. It's completely up to you, I can get rid of him if you don't want to talk to him." That would be funny to watch, Tina tossing Ranger out of her inn on his ass.

Lester decided that I looked too sad, I suppose, because he decided to share a thought with us. "Seeing the two of you sitting in the one chair was hot! I'm sure Ranger thought so too!"

So Tina and I both started throwing pillows at Lester, calling him all kinds of names. But in the end, we were all laughing.

It was decided that Lester would stay on his airbed on my side of the duplex. Tina would go back to her side only if I promised to call or knock on the wall if I needed her for anything.

I'd left Lester and Tina downstairs on the couch together plotting when I'd gone to bed. They had their heads together, giggling softly. They were so cute together. I really hoped that they found a way to make the long-distance relationship work.

I got ready for bed and tucked myself in. I lay awake for a long, long time, occasionally hearing a muffled giggle from my two co-conspirators downstairs. After a whole lot of suspicious silence, where I had to bite my tongue from starting to sing the kissing song again, I heard the front door open and close. A long time later, the door opened and closed again, and I heard Lester engaging the deadbolts. I heard him getting ready in the little half bath downstairs and then more silence.


	54. Chapter 54

_**Author's note**: Sorry, I accidentally uploaded Ch. 53 twice. Thanks to Margaret Fowler for alerting me to my mistake! Hope you enjoy._

_**Chapter 54: Stephanie's POV**_

Too many thoughts were going through my head and I couldn't turn it off. Normally I'm a world-class sleeper, but I couldn't fall asleep tonight. After a while, my insatiable stomach started growling at me, demanding to be fed before it would let me sleep.

I crept down the stairs as quietly as possible, not wanting to bother Lester. I tossed a couple of grapes in Rex's cage, and grabbed a carton of Chunky Monkey out of the freezer and a spoon.

I was creeping back through the living room to the stairs when I heard a click and Lester called out, "Freeze!"

I stopped in my tracks and I'm pretty sure my heart stopped too. "Geez, Lester, I just wanted some ice cream!"

The light clicked on. "Sorry, Steph, I thought maybe Ranger was ignoring Tina's warning." I watched a shirtless Lester put the safety back on his gun and slide it back under the edge of the sofa where I guess he'd kept it hidden.

I took a moment to really look at him. I knew he was taller than Ranger but he wasn't quite as muscular. Almost though. His skin was a few shades lighter than Ranger's mocha latte tone but tons darker than my own almost albino fair skin. His muscles rippled in the light of the lamp. He was a sexy man, but I'd never felt a spark for him. I certainly didn't mind seeing a mostly naked Lester, though! A girl has to take what she can get, right?

I flopped onto the loveseat with a sigh.

"Can't sleep, Beautiful?" Lester asked, settling back onto his makeshift bed with his arms behind his head.

"Nope."

"Wanna talk about it."

"Nope."

"What can I do for you?"

"Not shoot me when I need comfort food, for starters!" That did make Lester chuckle for a moment, and then his eyes turned serious.

"If you don't want to talk to him, you don't have to. I can get rid of him."

"I know, Lester, and I appreciate it. I haven't decided what to do yet. I just needed my two favorite guys," I started before Lester interrupted.

"Me and Rex, right?"

I rolled my eyes and continued, "Nope, Ben and Jerry. Ijust needed a little ice cream to get me through the night."

"Want me and Tina to beat him up for you?" I pretended to consider Lester's offer for a moment and then laughed.

"Nah, I think Tina would rather keep you in one piece," I said with my eyebrows raised. Lester blushed a little and got a goofy grin on his face. I nudged his foot with my foot. "So how's it going, Romeo?"

Lester was still smiling his goofy grin. "She's great, Steph, absolutely amazing. The most wonderful person I've ever met."

I grinned at him. "You've got it bad!"

Lester didn't bother denying it. "Just don't know how to make it work when I do eventually have to go back to Trenton."

I didn't have an answer for him either so I just shrugged. "I have no idea, but if anyone can, the two of you can make it work." I paused for a moment. "Has Tina mentioned moving back to Jersey?"

Lester just looked at me. "She mentioned that one day she'd like to move. Why?"

I deflected his question with one of my own. "Has she told you why she moved here in the first place?"

Lester nodded. "She needed to get away after her divorce." He gave me a wry look. "Are you absolutely sure you aren't related?"

I smiled. We were a lot alike in a lot of ways. I only wish I'd gotten to know her better in college but I was glad that we were friends now.

"Not unless her mom and my dad have been keeping secrets!"

"Has she said anything to you about moving back?" Lester's voice was hopeful and he had a puppy dog look of excitement on his face.

"Not so much that she's said anything, more of a feeling. My Spidey senses, if you will. You'd have to ask her about it though, I haven't asked her anything." Lester nodded and I could see him making a mental note to ask her about it at the first opportune moment.

"Well, Ben, Jerry and I are going to go back upstairs so you can get some sleep, if you promise not to shoot me."

Lester just nodded. "I'm here if you need me, Beautiful."

I felt tears well up in my eyes. I was so lucky to have such amazing friends. I whispered goodnight and went up the stairs as quickly as my still healing knee could go. Once I was back in my room, I heard Lester turn off the lamp and the duplex was silent.

I sat Indian-style on my bed, eating my ice cream. I was thinking about how lucky Lester and Tina were, how much they seemed to care for one another. They didn't try to hide it and they didn't try to force it. It just was. That was what I wanted for myself. Someone who would hold my hand in public and think I was special. I knew Ranger thought I was special, but somehow I couldn't see him being willing to just hold hands at a movie or giggle with me late at night.

With my heart heavy and my tummy full of ice cream, I sat the empty container on the nightstand and turned over. I stared out the windows towards the main part of the inn and wondered what Ranger was thinking.


	55. Chapter 55

_**Chapter 55: Ranger's POV**_

In the inn, Ranger was thinking that he'd made a fool of himself.

And that he should hire Tina to work at Rangeman. Any woman who could stare him down like that and look as good in a dress as Stephanie would be an asset. Lester wasn't the only one who had gotten a little distracted by the two women clinging to each other in laughter, and sending in the two sizzling hot brunettes after skips and fugitives would work twice as well as just one. If Tina was as good at kicking ass as Stephanie was when she beat up Lester, they'd be a formidable combo.

That was assuming that either lady would ever talk to him again.

Shit.

_**Author's note: **__I know, this is crazy short but I wanted to get Ranger's POV even though it's very short. More to follow, I promise!_


	56. Chapter 56

_**Chapter 56: Stephanie's POV**_

I woke up to the smell of coffee and bacon. I sniffed again. Tina was making breakfast!

I rushed through my morning rituals and got myself downstairs in a hurry. I knew Lester and I knew he'd eat all of Tina's magical food by himself if I didn't hurry.

I hobbled to the bar and sat myself down on a barstool. I looked at Tina with a pleading expression on my face, and she stabbed one of the bacon slices she'd just put on Lester's plate and moved it to my plate. Lester complained but I just smiled as munched happily. Yum!

Tina poured more some beaten eggs into the frying pan and turned back to eat her own breakfast. I was in heaven. Lester, that little devil, kept trying to steal back what he considered to be his bacon, but I just threatened him with my fork. Tina was laughing at us both and we played dueling forks. Finally, the rest of my breakfast was ready so I stopped fighting Lester for food.

Once we were all stuffed on eggs and bacon, we laboriously hauled our very full asses over to the living room. Tina and I took our usual spots on either end of the couch and Lester flopped onto the love seat.

"Are you sure you don't want to marry me?" I asked Tina in jest.

She just rolled her eyes at me. "If I were into girls, I would in a heartbeat!"

Lester, or perhaps I should start calling him Lecher for the lecherous grin on his face, waggled his eyebrows at us. I flipped him he bird and Tina stuck out her tongue at him.

"Down boy!" I smirked. "Keep it in your pants!" We were all laughing.

We joked around for a while longer, picking on Lester mostly. Finally, I stilled. Time to face the music.

I took a deep breath and then asked the question that was burning in my heart. "So, what do you think I should do about Ranger?"

Tina and Lester looked at each other for a moment, then at me. Crap, they had some sort of couple ESP going and I did not enjoy being left out.

"Steph, what are you thinking about doing?" Tina asked.

I let out a sigh. "I have no idea. He hurt me, convinced me to start trusting him again, and then hurt me again. But, on the other hand, it's not like Batman has a lot of experience with relationships or dating, and he took my getting hurt very hard." I sighed again. I seemed to do that a lot when Ranger was nearby. "So I don't know what to do."

Tina leaned forward in her Dr. Phil pose. "What do you want to happen?"

I chuckled a little sadly. "Happily ever after seems a little impossible."

Tina pounced. "But that's what you'd want, ideally? To live happily ever after with him?"

I had to think about it for a moment. "Yeah, in a perfect world. I love him and I like being around him, well, most of the time. But I don't feel like I really know him or that he knows the new me."

Tina sat back and looked at me. "You call him Batman because he's mysterious, right?" I nodded. "How is he mysterious?"

"Well, I don't even know where the Batcave is! I'm sure he knows," I nodded towards Lester, "but he's never taken me. The night he crashed my dinner with Lester, he said he'd take me but he never did. Then I got hurt and he started pushing me away again."

Tina looked at Lester. "Do you know where he lives?"

Lester nodded sheepishly. "Yeah, but I've only been there a couple of times, and mostly to check his security system. Not like he holds big parties there or anything."

I looked at Lester sadly. "But at least you know. If there was an emergency, you could find him. He trusts you that much. He doesn't trust me."

Lester was looking thoughtful. "I've known him my whole life, Steph. He's only a year older than me and he's my first cousin. I can't remember a time when I didn't know him. Of course, I knew him as my cousin Carlos first. The military bonding came much later. Some of the guys don't know where his house, the Batcave, is. He spends like 90% of his time in New Jersey in the apartment on seven. Or with you."

"But you see," I pointed out, "I've never really gotten to know Carlos. I've seen glimpses of him behind the Ranger mask, but I don't really know him. So how can I contemplate starting a relationship with someone I don't really know?"

"Isn't that how almost all relationships start? With getting to know the other person?" Tina asked. "Take this guy for an example. I only knew what you told me, Steph, to trust that he wasn't an ax murderer. My instincts said he was a good guy but I've had to spend time with him, talk to him to find out that he really is a nice guy. Most of the time."

I thought about that for a moment. Tina continued with her examples. "Or think about two co-workers who start dating. You only really know the work person when you start dating. You don't really know what they do in the evenings, on their weekends off, or anything like that. You start of with some commonalities and build from there. Could you build from what you do currently know about Ranger?"

I had to think about that. I'd never really dated a co-worker before but what Tina said was true.

Then she posed a question to me. "Steph, if you had to describe him in five words to someone who didn't know him at all, what would you say?"

Hmm, hard one. I thought about it for a moment. He was generous, he'd given me more cars than I could count. He bled money any time I'd needed protection and he didn't think twice about it. He helped out those in need.

He was honorable. He operated according to his own morals, which were sometimes a bit in the gray area of the law, but he'd never do anything that was immoral and outside of what he thought was right. He'd kissed me and such while I was dating Morelli, but he'd never tried to get me to sleep with him when I was in an on-phase with Joe.

He was sexy as hell, that was a given.

He was mysterious though, and the man did not know how to communicate his thoughts or feelings.

Finally, after a long time thinking about it, I answered. "Mysterious, sexy, honorable, generous and uncommunicative."

Lester laughed at the last bit but nodded. "I know how he feels about you. Hell, all the guys at Rangeman, even the Miami and Atlanta, offices probably know how he feels about you. But somehow he never told you how he feels about you. So yeah, uncommunicative fits."

Tina asked why I'd chosen the other words and I explained my rationale. Then she asked the hard question. "Is that enough for you to build on? Or are any of those deal breakers for you?"

"I don't know." This counseling thing was hard!

"So maybe that's what you need to discuss with him, if you decide to talk to him," Tina said.

I looked at Tina. "You know, if the whole inn thing doesn't work for you, you should become a therapist!"

She just smiled and blushed. "While I was going through my divorce, I did see a counselor for a while to help me get my head on straight. And she asked me some of the same questions that I asked you. They helped me to realize some things. You have to think about the things that are most important to you and go from there. Fidelity was important to me," she shot a glance at Lester, who was trying to look innocent, "and I couldn't tolerate a spouse who would cheat on me. So I left. But you have to decide what you can or cannot handle."

Lester stood up and offered a hand to Tina. "I'll clean up if you'll keep me company, and we'll let Steph think a little bit." So Tina and Lester went into the kitchen and I could hear the rattle of dishes being loaded into my dishwasher.

Three of the five characteristics I named were definitely good. Sexy, generous and honorable were all fabulous qualities. Mysterious was a little more iffy. No matter what, I don't think Ranger would ever be an open book and part of his appeal was the mystery. Uncommunicative was definitely a negative. I hated having to interpret the word "Babe", which seemed to form the base of his communication pyramid.

So three-and-a-half good qualities compared to one-half marginal and one bad qualities. Did it balance in the end? Or should I give up my Ranger dream and try to find someone else? Would anyone else ever understand what my life had been like before? Heady stuff.

Lester went up to take a shower and Tina went next door to get ready for the day, leaving me to my thoughts.


	57. Chapter 57

_**Chapter 57: Stephanie's POV**_

When Lester came back down and started pulling on his shoes, his killer ass in my face, I nearly jumped out of my skin.

"Must have been deep in thought, Beautiful." I nodded.

"I just don't know what I want, I don't know what to do," I whispered.

"Could it be any worse than you've been through?"

I shook my head. I didn't think it could be any worse than what I'd already survived.

"Then maybe give him a chance to see if it could be better. But you have to do what you think is best for you." Lester squeezed my hand and I squeezed back.

"I think I'll try to talk to him a little later, try to think about what I want a little more first." Lester nodded, kissed me on the forehead and walked outside. I heard him knock on Tina's door and then go in.

I sat for a long time thinking about my conversation with Tina and Lester and about all the previous conversations I'd had with Ranger.

I finally came to a conclusion and pushed myself up off the couch. I'd try talking to Ranger one more time. I wasn't called the Bombshell Bounty Hunter because I gave up easily! But first, I needed a shower and makeup. And a ton of mascara to give me courage. You can take the girl out of Jersey, but you can't take the Jersey out of the girl, I guess.

I got cleaned up and made myself look as naturally pretty as I could. I didn't want to seem too made up or look like I was heading to a distraction. I pulled on my favorite pair of hip hugger jeans and a blue stretchy top that made the most of my limited assets and my blue eyes. I still wasn't quite ready to face Ranger, so I was walking the long way to the inn on my woodsy walking trail.

I had my hands in my pockets when I heard a noise coming from the bend in the trail in front of me. I stepped to the side of the trail to allow the other person to pass and came face to face with a jogging Ranger.

He froze when he saw me, and then dropped his arms to his side. His eyes were solemn but he didn't have his blank face on yet.


	58. Chapter 58

_**Chapter 58: Stephanie's POV**_

I gave Ranger a little smile and my signature finger wave. "Hi."

"Hi, Babe."

We stood there awkwardly for a moment. I was ready to bolt back towards my safe living room but I knew I'd never make it even if I didn't have a sore knee. I snuck a quick peek at his face and he was just watching me with those mysterious brown eyes. I looked down again, suddenly fascinated by the grass. When I looked up again, he was still watching me like I was going to run away any moment.

I spoke without thinking. "I thought about it, but I figured you'd catch me with a bum knee."

He looked startled for a moment but then gave me a small smile. "Got your own ESP now, Babe?"

Hmm. I guess I could read him better than I thought. I just shrugged. I kept looking around, but every time I looked back at him, he was looking steadily at me.

I blew out a sign. "I guess we should talk since you've come all this way."

Ranger looked almost… relieved? A nod and another small smile.

"Do you want to keep walking or do you want to see my new place?"

"I'd love to see your home, if you'll share it with me, Babe." I nodded and turned around, walking towards my duplex. He fell into step beside me.

I went to my duplex and unlocked the door. I gestured for Ranger to precede me and stood nervously by the open door. I was chewing on my bottom lip and Ranger, of course, noticed.

"Are you afraid of me, Babe?" he asked as he crossed over the threshold.

My turn to be startled. "Afraid that you'll hurt me? No. You've tried to intimidate me before but I know you'd never hurt me." I paused for a moment before adding, "at least physically."

Ranger's eyes looked really sad at that part, but he just nodded and walked in.

"Want the ten-cent tour?" I asked.

He nodded. "Yes, please."

I showed him the kitchen and even opened the fridge to show off healthy stuff in it. Hey, I was proud of the fact that I now had stuff that even Ranger would eat in my fridge, and that I actually enjoyed eating it.

He chuckled a little in surprise. "Babe."

He tapped on the outside of Rex's cage. "How's it going, Rex?" We didn't wait for a reply but the wood shavings did quiver slightly. That was Rex's idea of hello, he was way past the normal age for a hamster so he moved pretty slowly these days.

He followed me into the living room and I was kicking Lester's stuff out of the way. "Your cousin is not a neat man."

Ranger snorted. "You're telling me! You never had to share a one-person tent with him." I had to giggle at the image of these two huge guys sharing a little bitty one person tent, especially since I know now that Lester is a bit of a slob.

I showed him the fireplace and all the books I'd inherited. He just raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Yes, I've read almost all of them."

Then I showed him the half-bath/ laundry room and we started up the stairs. He noticed that I was still limping and asked how my knee was doing.

"Pretty good," I replied, "just a little sore on stairs. It's okay most of the rest of the time. Doc said to give it another couple of days before I start working out again. I just find it ironic that my gunshot wound is healed now," I pointed to the pink scar on my arm, "but my sprained knee is still giving me problems!"

He nodded. "You'll be back kickboxing soon."

"I know you won't believe it, but I've actually missed working out!" I sounded shocked and he laughed a little at me. "I'm serious, I miss running, kickboxing, belly dancing. I never thought I'd say I missed working out, but I have."

Ranger froze at that and then his eyes swiveled back to mine. "So you really have been taking belly dance classes?"

I nodded and he just gulped. "On Thursdays. It's a lot of fun and good for your abs." His gaze dropped briefly to my stomach and then he pulled it back up to my eyes.

"Okay, moving on." I was blushing. "Here's my office." I stopped for a minute while he examined my little workspace.

"The bedroom." He looked around a bit. "The non-1970's bathroom. And finally my favorite part, the walk-in closet!" I opened the door with a flourish.

Ranger just looked at me and smiled.

We walked back downstairs and I shoved Lester's stuff off the coffee table. "Do you want something to drink? Or eat? I actually have food now if you're hungry."

He nodded but told me to surprise him when I asked what he wanted to eat. If he wanted a surprise, I'd give him one. I tossed him a bottle of water across the bar, which he caught of course.

"You can use either bathroom if you need to freshen up." I heard him get up and leave but I had my head in the fridge and didn't see where he'd gone.

I pulled out my omelet pan and got a little bit of olive oil heating in the pan. Then I whisked together three eggs in a bowl. I pulled out some containers of the already diced veggies from the grocery store and added generous amounts of chopped peppers, onions and tomatoes. I sprinkled some dried basil and rosemary into the eggs and mixed everything together again. Then I scrambled all the eggs together and let them cook while I toasted some whole wheat bread.

When the eggs were done, I put them on a plate with the toast and a carton of yogurt with granola in the lid. I grabbed a fork, spoon and napkin and walked over to Ranger.

"Ta da! Western scramble." I set it on the coffee table and he looked at me with a bit of pride in his eyes. "I told you I was learning to cook."

Ranger took a tentative bite of the eggs and looked surprised. "This is really good, Babe."

"Thanks."

I just sat quietly while he ate, dreading the conversation to come. "Thanks for breakfast, it was very good. I'll have to tell Ella that you're taking over her job soon." I looked up in shock and started shaking my head no.

He just laughed a bit at that and reached out towards me before he stopped and pulled his hand back with a sigh.

I clasped my hands together in my lap and looked up at Ranger. Deep breath. "So, why are you here?"


	59. Chapter 59

_**Chapter 59: Stephanie's POV**_

I watched as Ranger, Mr. Unflappable, looked unsure of himself. He fiddled with his running watch for a moment and I was watching him. It was just so weird to see Ranger flustered!

Finally he took a deep breath and looked at me. "I'm an idiotic ass."

That was it? Duly noted, already knew that. I just kept looking at him, thinking that there had to be more to his announcement that he was an ass. Did he really come all the way to North Carolina just to say that he was an ass?

I just kept watching in silence. Finally, he sighed, and said, "You were right, I was pushing you away because I felt guilty that you'd got hurt because of me." I just nodded. Score one for the Spidey senses.

He looked at me. "Babe, I need you to understand. I was a squad commander for a team of ten Rangers. I was given the ultimate goal and I had to decide how best to accomplish those goals. It was my responsibility to be sure that no one was hurt or killed. Now, with RangeMan, I'm the boss. I decide what jobs to take, I decide who goes where and does what. I'm the one in charge, so if someone gets hurt or killed, it's my fault."

I thought about that for a moment. "So if Tank were to get hurt in a take down, would you push him away as your friend?"

Ranger shook his head no. "It's different with you, Babe. And no, because you say it," apparently he noticed the pissy expression on my face, "it's not because you're a woman. It's because you're much more to me than just a team member. I don't think about my guys the same way I think about you." He shot me a look.

I had to smile at that. "Hey, don't ask, don't tell."

He smiled a little at me. "But seeing Mitchell with a gun in your side, seeing you bleeding, you don't know how that felt, Babe."

"Actually, Ranger, I do, when you walked into my living room and Scrog shot you. I was looking in your eyes when he pulled the trigger. I didn't know if you were dead or alive and I was tied up and I couldn't get to you. I just lost my mind. I was so worried and Joe had to tell me a dozen times that you were still alive, that you'd been wearing a vest, before I could start to believe it." I paused for a moment. "So I do know how that feels."

Ranger thought about that for a moment. "But Ranger, I had to trust that you knew what you were doing. I knew that you'd do whatever you had to do to keep me and Julie safe. I trusted you not to do anything stupid."

He just nodded. "I'm sorry, Babe."

"Do you know what I was thinking while I was waiting with Julie and Scrog?" He shook his head no.

"When I heard the door opening, I knew it had to be either you or Joe. And that's when I realized that I loved you. That either way I was about to watch someone I love get shot but there was nothing I could do about it. If I said anything, Scrog said he would shoot Julie. And I couldn't risk her life like that, she's just a kid. So all I could do was cry quietly and pray."

"Babe. I never knew." He closed the distance between us and pulled me into his arms. I rested my head on his shoulder and inhaled deeply, smelling Ranger's unique sexy blend of Ranger and Bulgari.

"I know. I could barely face it myself. But that was one of the worst days in my life," I admitted.

"We'd figured out that Scrog was there. The only way to distract him long enough to give the police and my guys the chance to save you and Julie was to give him what he wanted. Me." He paused for a moment. "I would do anything to protect you and Julie."

"I know you would. And I would do anything I could to protect you. Or to help you. I knew the risks of a distraction job, I'm not as incompetent as I seem sometimes. Anytime you or I go after a skip, there's always the risk that we'll get hurt or worse. Part of the job."

Ranger just stared at me for a moment before he finally just nodded. "I know you aren't incompetent, Babe. You have some of the best instincts of anyone I've ever met."

"Thanks, but I'm not sure that's a career path I want to continue. I wasn't bad at it, at least looking at my rates, but I wasn't good at it either. I think I was just better suited to the figuring it out part than the actual dragging in the bad guys. But it paid the rent for a few years."

"Would you ever think of working for Rangeman again? Doing research, systems analysis, distractions and that kind of thing?" Ranger asked.

"I don't know. I'm not sure that we should work together anymore. Didn't seem to work out so well for our friendship this last time," I replied. "And I'm not sure that I'm quite ready to move back to Trenton. So unless you're planning to open an office in North Carolina, it may be a moot point."

"What's keeping you here, Babe?"

"Mostly that I'm not a screw up here. No one expects catastrophes from me, the police don't have a betting pool on when my car will explode. I don't have Merry Men following me everywhere I go. Psycho stalkers aren't after me. Life is just calmer here."

"Could it not be calm in Trenton? If I promised to not put guys on you unless you tell me you need help?"

"But it's not just you, Ranger. I'm a different person here. I was back in New Jersey for two days before the rumor mill was going around the 'Burg that I attacked Joe and pushed him down in the street. No matter what happens around me, it was always my fault. I yelled at my mother about that and she's backed off, but still, I don't want that life. I don't want the 'Burg life and I don't think my mom will accept that unless I'm not in the 'Burg."

"You yelled at your mother?" Ranger seemed genuinely shocked.

"Yeah," I replied sheepishly. "First, I told her that she had to stop comparing me to other people and making me the bad daughter. Second, I told her that I was a grown woman and I didn't need my mother to point out my flaws or mistakes."

That earned me a big, bright Ranger smile. "Proud of you, Babe." Holy mackerel. Gulp.

"Feels like I spent most of my time in Jersey yelling at people, including you."

"I deserved it. I was being an ass, a year ago and a month ago. I know it took guts for you to call me on it, and I'm proud of you for that too."

"That and I dropped you on your ass."

Ranger laughed a little. "Let's try to keep that to ourselves. I do have an image to keep up."

"I was so pissed at you. I'm sorry about that," I apologized.

"Like I said, I deserved it. I deserved a lot more. I don't deserve that you're actually talking to me."

"I have missed being in Trenton. I've missed my friends, my family. The food!" I paused for a moment. "I missed you."

Ranger pressed a kiss to my forehead. "You have no idea how much I missed you."

"Why don't you try to tell me then."

"Talking about things isn't easy for me."

I snorted. "No shit, Ranger! Half the time, the only word you say to me is 'Babe' and then I have to guess what you mean by it. You really need to expand your vocabulary!"

"Babe."

"See!"

He shook his head at me. "Look, Ranger, I'm serious here. Tina asked me for five words that I would use to describe you to a complete stranger. And one of those words was uncommunicative. It really makes me crazy when you never tell me anything about yourself. You tell me that my diet is going to kill me one day or to keep my gun loaded, but you never tell me anything personal."

Ranger thought for a moment. "You're right. But it's hard for me to open up. I'm private by nature and Ranger training means learning to keep secrets. But you know more about me than almost anyone else. Until the Scrog thing, you were one of only a handful of people in the world who knew about Julie."

I just nodded. I knew he was a private person, but still, I needed more from him.

"What were the other four?" he wanted to know.

I nibbled my lower lip for a while but I decided that since I was the one who had brought it up, I should tell him. "Honorable, generous and mysterious."

"That's only three, Babe."

I blew out a sigh. Damn, I was hoping he wouldn't catch that. "Sexy."

"You think I'm sexy?"

I just shot him a look like he'd suddenly lost his mind. "Every straight woman I know thinks you're sexy, Ranger. And some of the not straight ones too."

That got a little smile. "Doesn't matter what they think. Only what you think."

"Yeah, I think you're sexy." I rolled my eyes at him.

He smiled at me and moved a bit closer to me. "Good to know, Babe."

We sat quietly for a moment. Finally, I confronted the white elephant in the room. "So where do we go from here?"

Ranger just looked at me. "Where do you want to go, Babe?"

"Nu-uh, you're the one who came all the way to North Carolina to give me a heart attack. I think you need to go first."

That got a small smile from Ranger but no words. Okay, well, we'll just think of this as practice for me not filling the silence by rambling. So I just waited. I'm pretty sure I'd gnawed my tongue off biting it so much. Could they reattach a severed tongue?

Finally, Ranger was disconcerted by my silence and he spoke again. "I know you don't believe me, but I do love you. And I'll do whatever it takes to make you happy."

"No, Ranger, what do _you_ want?" I put the emphasis on the word you. I didn't want to hear what he thought I wanted. I wanted to know what he wanted deep down, what Carlos wanted.

He sat there with a frustrated look on his face. I could tell he had no idea what I wanted him to say, but I just wanted him to be honest, totally honest.

I took pity on him. "How about this, you think about that and let me know when you have an answer. In the meantime, I'll show you around the inn and around town today if you're interested."

He nodded, looking relieved. I glanced at the clock on the microwave. "Get dressed in casual stuff, preferably something other than just black, and I'll meet you in the lobby in an hour. Does that give you enough time to get ready?"

He just shot me a look like I was crazy. "I don't need an hour to get ready, Babe."

"No, but I have to make a few calls for work and I'll need some time to do that."

"Okay, Babe, see you in an hour." He leaned over and gave me a hot, lingering kiss. I thought about jumping him but somehow I was able to keep my hormones in check. Barely. They were singing the Hallelujah Chorus but I tried valiantly to turn them off.

He pulled back and smiled at my befuddled expression. So I raised my eyebrows at him and leaned in to nibble where his neck and shoulder meet. I knew that always made him crazy. As soon as his arms started to come around me, I pulled back and smiled wickedly. "You're not the only one with sexy moves. If you don't use yours against me, I won't use mine against you."

He looked at me for a moment like he was debating asking me to use more of my sexy moves against him and I laughed and stood up. "Come on, Batman. You have time for a cold shower before I give you a tour."

He muttered something about needing two and I bit my lip to keep from laughing. I grabbed my purse off the kitchen bar and held the door open for him.


	60. Chapter 60

_**Chapter 60: Stephanie's POV**_

Once we reached the lobby, Ranger gave me another quick kiss and a hot look before he headed up to his room. I went into my office and returned several phone calls about reservations and other inn business.

A little before I needed to meet Ranger, Jennifer, one of our part time desk clerks, stuck her head in my office. "Okay if I run to the restroom and grab a snack before you leave?"

"Sure, go on. Just stick up the bell and sign."

A minute later, I heard the bell ding. I stood up, smoothed my top and walked out. There were two guys waiting out front, and they both looked like they were military. One was a cocky blond who was already acting like he was God's gift to women.

"Hi, welcome to the Dragonfly Inn. How can I help you today?"

The blond guy looked me up and down and leered at me. My Spidey senses were telling me that he was not someone I'd like to know.

"We made reservations for an early check-in but I think I'd rather stay with you instead, cutie," Blondie said.

Hell no, I don't think so. "Sorry, but my apartment is not available for rent," I said with a smile. This usually deflected the average horndog flirt.

"I wasn't planning to pay any rent. I'd show you a good time," he leered again.

"Sorry, but I'm not interested."

"Come on, cutie, you look like you need a good lay," he said as he was staring at my chest. If he only knew. I had a Cuban sex god who'd come all the way to North Carolina to see me, and given our hot kiss earlier, I was pretty sure he'd be more than happy to help me out with my hormone problem. I didn't need this idiot's help.

"We try to provide a romantic environment for guests, we do not provide the romance," I replied, trying to remain pleasant and professional despite the fact that my Spidey senses were telling me to just smack him upside his arrogant head with the stapler.

"I'm better than your boyfriend." I just snorted at that. The thought of anyone being better in bed than Ranger was just ridiculous.

"I'm not interested."

"Bet I could kick your boyfriend's ass. I'm in the 82nd Airborne," he gloated. Oh my God, that would be fun to watch. Either Lester or Ranger could kick his ass to kingdom come with one arm tied behind their backs. Or in Lester's case, with one foot in a walking boot. I should sell tickets.

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave if you continue to act like this."

"You're the one missing out, bitch."

I struggled to keep my face blank and professional but this guy had my Spidey senses on high alert. I decided to trust my instincts. "I think you should find alternate accommodations for your visit."

Blondie shot me a venomous glare. "Bitch."

"You are not welcome here."

"Let me talk to your fucking boss, bitch."

"I'm the manager on duty. And I'm telling you to get out now. You are not welcome here. You are not staying here. And I will call the police to escort you off the property and file a formal complaint against you if you don't leave right now," this jerk had me fuming. I'd had to deal with a number of flirty men but most took the hint pretty easily and left me alone. This guy was a jerk and he was really creeping me out. I crossed my arms across my chest and glared.

Tina walked in and caught the last part of the conversation. She raised her eyebrows at me and I shook my head slightly at her. Stay out of it. She nodded and walked behind a column, ready to jump in if I needed help.

"I'll get you fired," Blondie threatened. Unlikely given that one of my best friends was the managing owner.

"You can try. But get off of our property, right now."

Blondie shot the both me another angry look, and his friend tried to get him to leave. He just gave me an apologetic look and started dragging the guy towards the door. He had to pull Blondie out but he finally got him to leave.

"What was that about?" Tina came over and asked once they were both gone.

"Just another asshole who thinks that sex is part of the services provided," I joked.

I felt my neck tingle and suddenly a blue t-shirt and faded jeans clad- holy crap!- Ranger was standing behind Tina. I wondered what all he'd seen and heard.

"There a problem, Babe?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Nothing I can't deal with. Just another asshole who thinks he's God's gift to women," I replied.

I turned to Tina. "I was going to take Ranger on a tour of the inn and town. That cool with you?" She raised her eyebrows at me and just nodded.

"If Blondie comes back, call the cops or get Lester to throw him out. He's 82nd Airborne, or so he claims, so don't take any chances with him," I warned her.

That caused both Ranger and Tina to look at me with raised eyebrows. "He set off my Spidey senses. I don't trust him."

Ranger looked amused for a moment but then he turned to Tina. "Her Spidey senses are usually spot on. If you see this guy around, let me or Lester know."

Tina just nodded. "I know how to run my inn, but I will be careful. Thank you for your concern. Have a good time." Then she turned and walked away, leaving Ranger in her dust.

He turned and looked at me, and his lips quirked upwards. "I don't think she likes me much."

I just smiled. "Nope." He looked taken aback. Most women would do backflips to get Ranger just to notice them, but Tina was pretty much ignoring him. I just smiled mysteriously, I hoped, and went back to my office to get my purse.

Jennifer was back at the front desk and Tina was filling her in on the situation. I knew Tina was working today, so I told both of them to be careful. Jennifer looked over at me and saw Ranger hovering behind me and she audibly gasped. Then she looked at me apologetically. I leaned in close to her, "don't worry, he does that to women all the time," I whispered. She just smiled weakly and looked down. Poor girl, I knew how she felt.

We walked out and I smiled at Ranger. "Told ya you were sexy."

"Babe."


	61. Chapter 61

_**Chapter 61: Stephanie's POV**_

I took Ranger on a tour of the inn and the guest cottages. There was a little lake in the center of the property and we walked down to the edge. There were several ducks floating on the surface of the lake but they were pretty used to people and just glanced at us warily before continuing their swim.

I had just opened the door to the duplex to drop off my work files and to get my CR-V before taking Ranger on the tour of town. "Beautiful! There you are."

I waved. "Hi Lester. What's up?"

"Not much, whatcha doing?" he wanted to know.

"I was planning to take Ranger on a tour of town."

"Great, I'd love to take another tour!" Then he was gone, off to change clothes or whatever.

I walked outside and told Ranger. "Lester invited himself on the tour. I think he's bored since Tina is working today. That okay with you?"

He just raised his eyebrows at me. "Words, Ranger. I need words, not eyebrows!"

He smiled at me. "I'd rather be alone with you but I guess I understand why my cousin is being protective. Seems that he's appointed himself your knight in shining armor."

He hooked one arm around my neck and pulled me close. He put his mouth right next to my ear and whispered, "I could lose him if you wanted me to." I shivered a little as I felt his hot breath on my ear, but I just leaned back and raised my eyebrows at him.

"Thought you wanted words instead of eyebrows, Babe." I just smiled and winked, but didn't say another word.

Lester rushed out and jumped in the backseat. His eager green eyes were watching us. He reminded me a lot of Bob at that moment and I burst out laughing.

Both Ranger and Lester looked at me inquiringly, and I just laughed and waved my arm. I wasn't going to hurt Lester's feelings by telling him that he reminded me of Joe's prehistoric vacuum cleaner of a dog!

I got in the driver's seat and Ranger got in the passenger seat. I drove around the area and then got on the parkway, which is a beautiful winding road though the beautiful North Carolina mountains. I pulled over at several places so they could see the amazing views. I told Lester and Ranger that there were tons of hiking trails but that I didn't think my knee was quite up to hiking just yet.

After driving around the area for a couple of hours, my stomach started grumbling. Ranger looked over at me and smiled and Lester burst out laughing. "Time to feed the beast, Beautiful," he called out.

I flipped him the bird, which made Ranger smile, and pointed the car back towards civilization. I asked them what they wanted to eat. Ranger said he had no preference but Lester really wanted to go back to a restaurant in the next town over, about 15 minutes away. Ranger said that would be fine with him once I explained that it was an eclectic place that served yummy food and organic healthy stuff too.

After we finished lunch, Lester wanted to go into a cigar store next door. Ranger looked interested so I told them both to go in and take their time. I'd have dessert while they looked at smelly stuff. Must be a guy thing.

I was sitting at an outside table enjoying a fantastic crème brulee while playing a game on my phone when Blondie and his buddy stumbled out. Blondie came straight over to me and sat down at my table.

"See, bitch, you should have taken me up on my offer. You're eating lunch alone like a loser." I put my phone in my purse and wrapped my hand around my defense spray.

"I'm not alone. My friends will be back in a minute. Please go away." I was trying to keep my calm but I really wanted to squirt him in the eyes with the defense spray. I could smell the beer on his breath and he was slurring his words. I figured he was definitely buzzed, and maybe already pretty drunk.

He stuck his finger in my crème brulee and then licked the custard off his finger. He probably thought he was sexy sticking his finger in his mouth but I thought he was just gross. And I was mad because I couldn't finish it since it was now infected with cooties.

I stood up and walked away. I'd made it a few steps when he grabbed my shoulders and hauled me up against him. I yelled as loud as I could as I kicked the heel of my sneaker into his shin as hard as I could. Then I replayed the Lester experience by driving my elbow into his nose. I heard it break too. I'm getting good at breaking noses. He went down holding his leg and his nose.

I jumped away and his drunk buddy, the one I had been thinking of as the nice guy, grabbed at me too. I decided I didn't like him anymore as I jumped out of the way and got into a defensive stance. I'd landed hard on my left leg with my still sore knee, but I had to ignore it for the moment.

Brownie grabbed at me and I kicked him in the thigh. I'd have normally gotten him in the balls but my left leg was still a little unstable and I went slightly off balance. Brownie had leaned down to protect the family jewels and so I kicked him in the face. Hard. He wasn't moving. I'm pretty sure I broke his nose too. Got blood all over my nice clean Nikes. Crap.

Blondie had stumbled to his feet and was stumbling towards me with murder in his eyes and blood flowing down his face. I was couched into a fighting position and pointing my defense spray at Blondie's bloody face when I felt a prickle on my neck and I knew Ranger was there.

Ranger and Lester were beside me instantly. Blondie was either too drunk, too stupid or too enraged to be afraid of the angry giants at my side and he lunged at me. Ranger shoved me behind Lester with his left arm and drove his right fist into Blondie's face. Blondie's already broke nose got a lot more broken.

Lester was in full bodyguard mode. He pushed his left arm back and put his hand on my hip to keep me behind him and kept his body between the drunk soldiers and me. He was ready to kill anyone or anything that came near me. He moved around quickly, with me behind him, until he had his non-broken left foot resting heavily on Brownie's throat. It wouldn't take much more pressure to make sure he never took another breath. For all that Lester is a playboy jokester at times, he's also one hell of a scary badass when he's in security mode. And boy was he in security mode now.

I knew that Blondie had no chance in hell against Ranger so I peeked around Lester to enjoy what was left of the show.

Blondie had staggered back several steps from Ranger's punch. The delusional idiot started moving back towards Ranger when Ranger stepped forward and dropped him to the ground with a hell of a hard kick to his chest. Then he magically had a gun in his hand aimed at Blondie's head. I'm not sure where the gun came from, but I wasn't really surprised that Ranger was armed. He'd told me once that he usually had two guns and a knife on him. It was amazingly hot to witness. He looked around for more threats but we'd already taken out the two jerks.

Lester took his hand off my hip but kept me behind him. Ranger reached me in two steps and pulled me into his arms. He was looking me over for injuries. "You hurt?"

"Strained my knee a little again but otherwise I'm good," I hurried to reassure him. I caught his hand in mine and pulled it towards me so I could check it for broken bones. "Are you okay?" He just raised an eyebrow as if he was asking why I should even consider asking that.

He turned back and nodded at Lester. Ranger handed me his gun and I stepped back to cover both of them. The he and Lester searched each moron for weapons. They were a little rougher than they necessarily had to be, but they were riled up big time. I was Ranger's… something, and I was now Lester's kid sister. They made a big mistake when they tried to fuck with me with these two in the same ZIP code. They pushed each guy over onto his stomach and jerked their arms up to put their hands to their heads. By then, we had an audience and I could hear sirens on the way. The whole fight, from when Blondie grabbed me until they were both on the ground, took less than two minutes.

Ranger and Lester had a heavy knee on each idiot's back and had their arms yanked painfully tight. I could see muscles clenched in both of my guys' jaws. They were fighting the impulse to kill these cretins and I could see it was taking serious effort.

Blondie managed to pry one swollen eye open and looked at me. "You wanted to meet my friends," I said. I gestured at the scary badass with a knee on his spine. "They're Rangers." He just closed his eye and groaned.

I still had Ranger's gun pointed at the goons. I shot a glance at Ranger and nodded towards the gun in my hand, silently asking him if the gun was legal. He just nodded so I assumed it was fine.

When the police approached, I put the gun on the ground and raised my hands in the classic "I'm not a threat" pose. "These two jerks tried to attack me, but my friends and I were able to stop them."

One police officer kicked Ranger's gun out the way but kept his own gun aimed at all of us while his partner spoke with someone at the restaurant. I could see his partner nod, and cop #1 holstered his gun.

"Tell me what happened," he ordered.

I lowered my arms and explained. "I'd had lunch with my friends and they wanted to go into the cigar store. It's not really my thing, so I was eating dessert while they looked. These two gentlemen," I put a lot of loathing into the word gentlemen, "had already caused a scene at the Dragonfly Inn this morning, where I work. They came over and started hassling me. Blondie stuck his nasty finger in my crème brulee!" I was really pissed that he'd ruined my dessert. The cop's lips twitched for a moment.

"I got up and walked away and Blondie grabbed me. I kicked him and elbowed him in the nose and then his buddy, Brownie, tried to grab me too. I aimed for his nuts but only got in a glancing blow." The cop grimaced at that. There's something about getting kicked in the balls that makes all men a little green. "Then I kicked him in the head. That's when my friends came out and these this moron," I pointed at Blondie, "was stupid enough to try to grab me again. My friends are ex-Army Rangers and security specialists," I explained and the cop just nodded.

The cop just nodded at me and he and his partner came behind Ranger and Lester and cuffed the two idiots lying on the ground.

Ranger came over to me and hugged me to his chest. Lester followed and tugged on one of my curls. "It was kind of fun to see you beat the snot out of these two guys, Beautiful. I'm just glad it wasn't me this time!" Lester said.

That broke the tension and I started to giggle. Even Ranger chuckled a bit and Lester beamed like he was the funniest man in the world.

It took about an hour but we finally had all given our statements to the police. They'd given Ranger his gun back after Ranger had a private conversation with cop #2 and had pulled out his wallet to show him something. There were enough witnesses to corroborate my story that it was a pretty open and closed case. The two goons were shipped off to the local ER with a police escort and we were free to go since I had declined medical attention.

I was filing formal charges. Both morons were in the Army stationed at Bragg and the cop was going to call the base to notify them of the behavior of two of their soldiers.

During the whole time, either Lester or Ranger stood behind the chair the cop had dragged over when I told him I'd hurt my knee. When the cops tried to separate us, Ranger just raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms over his chest. The cop did not make the request a second time and one or the other was always behind me.


	62. Chapter 62

_**Chapter 62: Stephanie's POV**_

When they finally released us, Lester insisted on driving my CR-V home. Since he'd been here for a couple of weeks and knew his way around pretty well, I just handed over my keys. We drove home in silence and Lester pulled up to my duplex. I walked in and flopped on my sofa with the guys hot on my heels.

Ranger came over and wrapped an arm around my shoulder and pulled me tightly against him. Lester managed to take up the entire love seat all by himself.

Lester looked over at me and grinned. "You're a fun date, Steph!" I just flipped him the bird and rolled my eyes, and snuggled into Ranger's arms.

We sat like that for a few moments when my front door flew open with a bang. Ranger, Lester and I were on our feet in a second and Ranger shoved me behind him and had his gun pointed at the door. A whirling dervish named Tina rushed into the room and raced to my side. She jerked me away from Ranger and frantically checked me for injuries. When she saw that I wasn't bleeding anywhere, she collapsed onto the couch.

Ranger sat back down and pulled me into his lap. Lester came over and knelt in front of Tina.

Tina looked over at me. "The police just called to ask about the altercation this morning and told me that they'd attacked you!"

I leaned over and grabbed her hand. "I'm fine. We're all fine. I didn't think they'd call you or I'd have called to let you know that I was okay. I'm sorry."

She took in a shuddering breath and let it out slowly. I felt awful that I'd worried her. "The cop said you were fine but I just had to make sure!"

Lester grabbed her hands. "Steph beat the crap out of them before we even got to her. It was nice to see her beat up someone other than me!" Once again, that got a laugh and Tina giggled.

She turned her huge brown eyes back towards me. "What happened?"

I explained what had happened and Tina actually clapped when I finished the torrid tale. "Good job!"

"Let me tell you, these guys were either really drunk or are complete morons. They grabbed me in broad daylight in front of a bunch of people. Then Blondie was too stupid to stay down when these two," I pointed at Lester and Ranger, "big scary dudes were standing right beside me! And let me tell you, they do big and scary really well."

"Steph had already knocked Brownie unconscious with a head kick, and she was about to spray Blondie with Mace when we joined the fun," Lester said, sitting Indian style on his air mattress in front of Tina. "She'd already had most of the fun."

I made a face at Lester. "I wouldn't call it fun! It scared the hell out of me!"

Ranger pulled me closer, though I couldn't get much closer since I was already on his lap. Any closer and I'd be meeting his pancreas up close and personal.

"You did a good job, Babe," Ranger said. "You'd already eliminated one target and we well on your way to taking out the other. Proud of you." He kissed me gently on my lips and then gave me a big, beaming smile.

"And I didn't even break one of your Merry Men this time!" Poor Lester just groaned at the reminder that I'd kicked his butt pretty good too.

Then Lester smiled and started laughing. "The guys won't be able to pick on me anymore once they hear about this! She beat the snot out of two Airborne guys at the same time so clearly she's a badass now too! No shame in getting your nose broken by a fellow badass, right?"

Ranger just snorted and then laughed. I turned on his lap to glare at him. "Are you insinuating that I'm not a badass?" I tried to wiggle out of his lap but he just laughed harder. This was the second hardest I'd ever seen him laugh. The first time was when I'd broken Lester's nose and foot at the club.

I just glared at him and was considering breaking his nose when he finally got his laughter under control. He took one look at the expression on my face and started laughing again.

"Tina," I said conversationally, "did you know that it's possible to kill someone if you break their nose and drive the broken bones into their brain?"

That just made Ranger and Lester laugh harder and I was seriously considering inflicting major bodily harm on both of them. I wriggled around like an angry eel and got my knee to rest gently on Ranger's pride and joy. He stopped laughing immediately and froze. "Babe!" he said with his beautiful brown eyes wide.

"Good choice," I said to him. This just made Lester laugh harder until Tina reached up and grabbed his still healing nose. A little pressure got him to stop laughing quickly too.

"That's much better, boys," I said as Tina and I smirked at them.

I pulled my knee away from Ranger's winkie and he sucked in a lung full of air. Tina let go of Lester's nose and he immediately put his hand to his nose. She and I both laughed.

"I don't know, Steph," Tina said to me, "I think it's pretty badass that you got Manoso to stop laughing so quickly!"

"Mm hmm," I agreed, "and it's pretty badass how you made Santos stop laughing at me!"

"Beautiful, we weren't laughing at you, we were laughing with you!" Lester tried to explain.

"I wasn't laughing!" My eyes were shooting daggers at Lester. If looks could kill, Lester would be dead meat.

Ranger shifted me on his lap so that my knees were nowhere near the Manoso family jewels, then he leaned forward and kissed my ear. "You are definitely a badass, Babe!" he whispered.

I turned my head and kissed him on the nose. "About time you realized that!"

Ranger kept one arm around my shoulders pulling me to his chest, but he wrapped the other one firmly around the top of my thighs. I guess he wasn't taking any chances on getting an unscheduled vasectomy. I leaned against him and snuggled my face into his neck.

"Seriously, Babe, it was pretty badass of you to take down two trained soldiers. I was happy to finish of Blondie for you," he growled a little at that, "but I had no doubt that you'd have taken him down too. I saw the kick to the head you gave Brownie when we were running towards you. He'll be seeing stars for days!"

"He got blood on my new Nikes," I said in disgust. "Gonna have to wash them now." Ranger just chuckled.

I was rubbing my left knee absently. "Knee bothering you?" Ranger asked. I nodded.

"I guess I should go upstairs and change, and check to see what damage I did to my knee," I said. I stood up and Ranger was quickly on his feet too. I'd only taken a step when he picked me up in his arms.

"Ranger!" I squeaked in surprise. "I can walk!"

Ranger just started towards the stairs. "Yes, but I like holding you." I sighed and wrapped my arms around his neck. I looked back and Tina was staring at us with an amazed look on her face. I just shook my head at her.


	63. Chapter 63

_**Author's note:**__ Thanks to those of you who read my work! Special thanks to those of you who have left reviews or sent private messages._

_**Chapter 63: Stephanie's POV**_

Ranger carried me up the stairs and into my bedroom. He set me gently on the center of the bed and knelt in front of me to take off my bloody shoes. He tried to push up the leg of my jeans but they were too tight. Dang, should have worn the boot cut jeans today instead of the skinnier fit hip huggers.

I shot a glance at him and then leaned back on the bed. I unbuttoned my jeans and slid down the zipper. I pulled my right leg up on the bed and planted my food against the comforter. I used my leg to lift my hips off the bed and I shimmied the jeans down past my hips. This is a maneuver that almost all women who own tight fitting clothes, regardless of their size, are familiar with.

Once I had the jeans past my hips, I put my leg down and pulled them the rest of the way off my legs, inhaling deeply when I pulled them past my swollen left knee. I sat up and pulled the edge of the comforter over to cover my girly bits and looked up. Ranger was gazing at me with rapt attention and his eyes were so dark brown they were almost black.

"Focus, Ranger," I murmured and he snapped his attention from my tingling girly bits to my knee. He pressed gently against it and I bit my lower lip. He poked a bit more until I pushed his hands away. I gently poked at my knee and flexed it. It hurt, but it wasn't awful. I was pretty sure that it had just aggravated my earlier injury but that I hadn't done any new damage to it. Luckily, the gashes from the glass on the sidewalk had already healed into pink scars so I hadn't hurt them any.

I had Ranger get me the ace bandage from the bathroom and he helped me to wrap my knee. I'd stopped wearing the support bandage when it had stopped swelling but I needed it again.

I leaned over the edge of the bed and retrieved a pair of lounge pants that I'd tossed on the floor in my hurry to get Tina's breakfast before Lester ate it all. Oh God, was that just this morning?

Ranger was still standing there looking at me. I reversed my earlier process and pulled the lounge pants on rather than taking off my jeans. I kept the comforter over me as much as possible, but I'd probably given Ranger a few peeks at my undies.

When I looked back up at him, he just raised an eyebrow at me. "Sleep pants?"

"Well, since Lester is staying here, I didn't want to walk around in my usual sleep outfit," I said with a smirk. Ranger knew that I usually slept in a t-shirt and panties. No pants.

His eyes got even darker and he just gave me a curt nod. Guess he didn't want me parading around in front of his cousin with no pants either.

Ranger helped me into the bathroom. I took care of business. I gasped loudly when I looked in the mirror and saw blood splattered on my shirt. Eww, I had asshole cooties!

The door flew open just as I'd pulled the bloody shirt over my head. I turned and stared at Ranger with my jaw hanging open. He looked around, searching for intruders in my windowless bathroom, I suppose.

I could tell when he realized that there was no danger and that I was topless. His eyes focused intently on my laced covered breasts. I clutched the shirt to my chest and then tossed it away once I remembered it had cooties on it. I grabbed a towel instead and wrapped it around me.

Ranger slowly dragged his eyes from my towel-covered chest to my eyes. He lifted an eyebrow.

I sighed. "I had blood all over my shirt and it's gross. It was a surprise. Sorry." He just nodded, never taking his eyes off of me.

I made a little shooing motion with my hand. "Let me get cleaned up, please." He just stood stock-still. I hobbled a little closer and pushed him gently on his chest. He backed up a few steps and I closed the bathroom door in his face. Then I locked the door.

I unwrapped the bandage around my knee and stripped down. My underwear had cooties from being in contact with my bloody shirt, so I'd tossed them into the floor. They would all get a super hot wash with extra non-chlorine bleach to kill all the cooties. I took a really quick shower and scrubbed all the asshole cooties off my body and hair. I stepped out and snagged a clean towel from the storage cabinet. The old one now had cooties on it from when I wrapped it around my unwashed chest. I got as much water as possible out of my curly hair and worked a little anti-frizz gel into the wet ringlets. Hopefully my hair would air dry without turning into a frizzy mess.

I didn't have any clothes in the bathroom that weren't contaminated with cooties, so I wrapped myself in my bathrobe and sat down on the edge of the tub. I rewrapped my knee and then stood up.

I took a deep breath and walked into the bedroom. I saw Ranger sitting on my bed, watching me. My cootie shirt had touched the comforter so that would need to be washed too, I thought. Ranger wasn't moving even thought he was watching me, so I hobbled around the bed to the dressers under the windows.

I opened drawers and pulled out underwear, lounge pants and a t-shirt. I hobbled back around the bed and back into the bathroom. I quickly changed and reemerged fully dressed with my undies, sleep pants and the cootie shirt wrapped in the towel. Ranger was still sitting on the bed watching me.

I shuffled over to my closet and pulled out a laundry basket and dumped the items that were in it onto the floor of my walk-in closet. I dropped my clothes in it and dragged the basket to the bed to put my shoes, socks and jeans in it. I held out my hands to Ranger and he took them. I pulled him up off the bed and he stood next to me. I pulled the comforter off the bed and put it in the laundry basket.

I went back into the bathroom and scrubbed my hands hard with really hot water and soap. When I came back out, Ranger was sitting on my bed again, watching me with dark eyes that I couldn't read. I kicked the laundry basket into the corner, out of the way.


	64. Chapter 64

_**Chapter 64: Stephanie's POV**_

I walked over and sat down next to Ranger. "Are you okay?" I asked him as I patted him on the knee. He just turned and gave me an insanely hot kiss. I felt like I had spontaneously self-combusted. Can humans spontaneously combust? Hmm, something to look up on Wikipedia.

He pulled me into his lap again and wrapped one arm around my back and held the back of my head as he voraciously attacked my mouth. His other arm was wrapped around my hip, his hand warm and firm against my hip as he pulled me against him. That wasn't the only part of him that was firm either. I was a seething mass of sensation, my deprived hormones springing to life and singing the Hallelujah chorus in surround sound. Oh my God.

When I was out of oxygen, I tore my mouth away from his and sucked in a deep breath. I leaned back slightly so I could see his eyes. "What was that?" I gasped.

"Something I've been wanting to do for a year," he murmured in a gravelly voice, "but especially since I saw you kicking ass again today. You were hot, made me hot." I could tell by the expression in his eyes and the evidence straining against my tush that he was indeed hot. I couldn't blame him, watching him knock the stuffing out of Blondie had been pretty hot too, once I knew that I was safe.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and turned my head against his neck while I tried to get my breathing and my screaming hormones under control. We were both breathing heavily, the sound of our ragged breathing mingling together.

Once I finally thought I could move without tackling Ranger and having my wicked way with him, I kissed him on the cheek and wiggled out of his lap. He let me go very reluctantly, as evidenced by the very large bulge in his jeans.

"Let's go back down stairs before we do something we might regret in the morning," I said, holding out my hand towards him. He took my hand but instead of standing up, he turned my hand over and put a hot kiss on the back of my wrist.

"I wouldn't regret anything," he said, his dark eyes on my mine and his lips against my wrist. I gave an involuntary shiver and tried to tamp down my riotous hormones. They were in full rebellion that I wasn't taking advantage of his blatant offer but I wasn't ready to go down that road with Ranger. Again.

"Maybe, but I might." I tried to pull my hand away from his magical lips but he wouldn't let my hand go. He pulled me towards him and then put both hands on my hips and looked up at me.

"Why would you regret it?"

"Because you confuse me. Clearly I think you're sexy as hell and trust me, I want to, but I'm not the kind of girl who can do casual sex."

He was staring me in the eyes. "There's nothing casual about how I feel about you, Babe."

Got me there, I wasn't feeling particularly casual either at the moment. "Maybe casual isn't the right word. Maybe committed is a better word."

"What kind of commitment do you need to make you feel safe with me?"

I don't know how to answer that question. I wasn't sure that I ever wanted to get married again and I still thought hamsters were more my style than children, but I couldn't just jump into bed with Ranger with things so unsettled, as much as my sex-deprived Hungarian hormones were shouting that a Ranger orgasm would be just fine. I just shrugged.

I started to step back but Ranger's hands tightened on my hips, holding me in place. "I thought we were shooting for words instead of gestures, Babe." Then he pulled out his secret weapon. "Please."

I really have to find a way to not melt when big strong badasses use the word please. It was doubly effective when the not so verbal Ranger used it.

I sighed and lifted my hands to fiddle with his silky dark hair, running it through my fingers as I thought. "Babe?" he prodded.

"I'm thinking. I don't know how to answer that. Just give me a minute." I was rubbing my hands through his hair and lightly massaging his scalp. He closed his eyes and pressed his head a little harder into my fingertips and I followed his prompt and rubbed his scalp a bit harder.

He made a sound deep in his chest almost like a cat purring. Hmm, something new to add to my arsenal of how to handle Ranger. He likes getting his head rubbed! I always thought he had a panther-like grace, so I guess the purring when I rubbed his head was normal for a cat. Maybe he was more of a Thundercat than Batman? I looked down at him, still intimidating and darkly sexy as hell even relaxed with his eyes closed. Nope, Batman worked. And I really didn't want to be a Thundercat 'ho.

What did I want from Ranger? Other than the wild and dirty sex that my hormones were screaming for, I wasn't entirely sure. But I had asked him to try to use more words so I guess I had to do the same.

"I don't know exactly what I want," I started and Ranger's brown eyes opened and locked on mine. His gaze was intense and I felt like I was the most important person in his life at that moment. That was always one of his greatest qualities despite his communication deficiencies. When he was talking to you, his attention was focused 100% on you. That's why he'd rarely chat at a stake out.

I took another deep breath and forced myself to continue. Coward Stephanie was screaming at me to stop talking and run the hell away, but the more mature part of me told me that I had to be honest with him if I wanted him to be honest with me.

"I'm not sure that I ever want to get married again so it's not like I need that. But I do need to feel like it's more than just sex, like I'm really a part of the other person's life. So I can't tell you exactly what I need, just that I need to feel important before I jump into bed." I paused for a moment. "And I would need to be the only person in said bed as long as the relationship lasted."

Ranger nodded. "You've never been just sex to me, Babe."

I shot him an 'are you stupid?' look. "Do you remember the DeChooch deal, Ranger?" I could see his eyes darken and his usually direct gaze went slightly dreamy. "Clearly you do. Do you remember what you said to me the next morning?"

His blank face slammed down and I fought to keep myself from choking him. I hate when he does that.

"No, take off the blank face. You want me to be honest with you, you have to be honest with me." I watched him fight with himself for a moment and slowly I could see emotion return to his face. "Do you remember what you did the next morning?"

He sighed and I could see pain etched on his face. "I was an ass. I'd wanted you so badly and I made that idiotic deal. I never thought you'd agree but it was all I could think about once you did. I hated myself for taking advantage of your trust the next day and I tried to push you away."

"You didn't just try. You told me to fix things with Joe. Which I did because I needed to feel like someone cared about me, like I was more than a whore, which is how I felt when you left like that. Felt like you should have slapped down a couple of twenties on my dresser for services rendered as you walked out."

"I'm sorry, Babe," he rasped and I could see that he was truly sorry.

"That didn't make it hurt any less. So I'd need to feel like that would never happen again. That you'd never push me away because you felt guilty or because you were worried that I'd be hurt or whatever. That you'd never push me towards another man. I don't need false promises of happily ever after, but I'd have to know that if we're going to try, that we'd have to both be in it for real," I said.

Ranger nodded at me. He stood up slowly, keeping my hips trapped in his hands. We were touching from chest to knees. He leaned kissed me gently on my lips and pulled me close, looking me straight in the eyes. "I promise that I'll never do anything like that ever again. I was being an ass and trying to do what was best for you without thinking about what you wanted or what you needed. I've told you before that I'm selfish, and I am. But I will do my best to not be selfish with you, to try to listen to what you need too. I can't promise forever because I never know where I'm going to have to go or whether I'll make it back in one piece or not, but I can promise that I'll always love you and I'll always do my best to be there for you for whatever you need from me."

I looked at him in shock. This was the long speech I'd ever heard from him and it was full of emotion. His eyes were blazing with passion and I knew that he meant every word that he said. But the part of me that had been hurt by him cautioned me that it could just be a reaction to seeing me in danger today. I could see that he believed what he said, but I couldn't trust that those feelings would last. The hormonal part told me to shove him back on the bed and start singing Big and Rich's song 'Save a horse, ride a cowboy'.

So I settled for just going slightly on my tiptoes and kissing him gently. "That means a lot, Ranger. Let's just take it one day at a time, get to really know each other before we make any decisions. Okay?"

I could tell he wanted to argue but in the end he just sighed and nodded. He moved his hands from my hips to frame my face and he kissed me gently. "I'll do whatever I have to do to earn back your trust, Babe. To prove that I mean it."

With lots of grumbling from my hormones, I stepped back and put a little space between us. If I stayed plastered up against Ranger much longer, I couldn't guarantee that I would just say screw the commitment, just gimme sex.

He let me go this time and we both took a deep breath. "Well, that was emotional and awkward. I need cake now," I joked and Ranger gave me a little smile.

"Before I feed you cake, how do you want to take it from here, Babe? I don't want to rush you or make you uncomfortable but I can't hide the fact that you're the most incredibly sexy woman in the world to me and that I want you bad."

The Hungarian sex hormones were screaming at me and I had to fight a long battle to repress those urges. I'd had a lot of practice repressing urges where Ranger is concerned so I managed. Eventually.

"A cold shower would be a good place to start for both of us." Ranger smiled a little. "I don't feel like I really know you and you don't really know the new me. I've changed in more than just my ability to be a badass, you know!" That got me the full 200-watt smile and the hormones were back yelling at me. Oh. My. God. "So we'll just talk, get to know each other while you're here. Then we can do phone or computers when you're back in Jersey. Just take it slow and see if we even really like each other. You have to think about what you want, you never answered my question this morning. Then when we feel like we know each other, we can decide whether we're better as friends or if we want to try something more."

He nodded, still smiling. "Hey," I asked, "how long are you here?" I realized that I had no idea how long he was planning to stay in North Carolina.

"As long as you want me here," he answered.

I just looked at him in confusion. "Don't you have to get back to RangeMan soon? I figured you'd have a return flight booked already."

"No, I planned to talk to you and see what you wanted me to do."

"Well, as far as I'm concerned, you're welcome to stay as long as you like, but we'll have to check the reservation list. Or you could fight Lester for the blow-up bed." I was desperately trying to get the conversation to something less serious and emotional.

"Babe." I raised my eyebrows at him.

"Words, dude, words."

He actually tried to roll his eyes at me and I gasped and clutched my chest in mock shock. He just laughed at me and shook his head. "I am not fighting my cousin over the air mattress. I'll just revoke his medical leave if I have to."

I shook my head. "Nope, you will not be mean to Lester, you promised!" He growled a little but he was still smiling. "He was here first."

Ranger was plastered up against me again. Oh, be still my racing heart and raging hormones! "I was here," he put the emphasis on the word here, "first."

So then I rolled my eyes at him. Not a surprise or a shock to him since I roll my eyes a lot when he's around. And when he's not. "Play nice," I told him.

He leaned down slightly to whisper in my ear, "Oh, I play very nice." I shoved him away and he stepped back chuckling. Ranger in a playful mood is amazing to behold. I decide to prove that I could mess with his composure too.

I gave him my best seductive look and nibbled on my lower lip as I slowly smiled. "Oh but sometimes naughty is sooo much better," I said in a breathy Marilyn Monroe voice.

His eyes darkened and he took a half a step towards me when I held up my hands laughing. "Two can play at that game, Batman!"

I turned to flounce towards the door but my knee wasn't really up to flouncing yet. So I hobbled away. Not the most dignified exit, but it was the best I could manage under the circumstances. Ranger laughed and scooped me up in his arms.


	65. Chapter 65

_**Chapter 65: Stephanie's POV**_

Lester and Tina were on the couch making out when we got downstairs. They were both still fully dressed, thank God, but they were kissing so intently that they didn't hear us. "Think we should go away and let them continue?" I whispered to Ranger.

Ranger just chuckled and made a big show of saying loudly, "Stephanie, you want me to put you back on the couch?"

I smiled at him and replied in a very loud voice. "Sure, Ranger, that would be nice." I tried to put an innocent expression on my face but I was biting my lip to keep from laughing when Lester and Tina sprang away from each other. Lester jumped up and sat on the loveseat, his hair all mussed and sexy. Tina's hair wasn't much better but she was smiling. She didn't care what her hair looked like.

Ranger started towards the couch but I stopped him by squeezing his shoulder. He looked at me. "Before I sit down, could you help me with something?" He nodded. "Could you grab that laundry basket with my comforter in it? I need to wash all the cootie stuff a couple of dozen times." Ranger sat me down in front of the door to the half bath/ laundry room and kissed my cheek before he started back up the stairs.

I smirked at Lester and Tina. "I hope you weren't bored while I was getting cleaned up," I said with my eyebrows halfway up my forehead. I knew they hadn't been bored. Tina just stuck her tongue out at me and Lester gave me a satisfied grin. "Mm hmm, looks like you two found _something_ to occupy your time," I said with a chuckle.

"Bite me, Beautiful," Lester said.

I just widened my eyes innocently. "Looks like Tina already did that," I said with mock horror as my eyes drifted down to a hickie on Lester's neck. Tina blushed bright red and rolled her eyes at me. Even Lester was slightly pink cheeked.

Ranger walked past me into the laundry room with the laundry basket in his hands, his back shaking in silent laughs. I followed him in and wrapped my arms around his waist. "He told me to bite him," I said in a breathless whisper into his ear. "Do you think he thinks he's a birthday cake?" I was being silly but I enjoyed joking around with the normally stoic Ranger.

Ranger burst out laughing at that. He turned and gave me his 200-watt smile and I stepped back to take the laundry basket out of his hands. I stuffed everything in the washer, set it to extra hot and added lots of detergent and non-chlorine bleach. I was going to let it soak for a while before letting it go through the full wash. Then I washed my hands at the sink and scrubbed with lots of soap.

"Do you think the water and soap will kill Army asshole cooties?" I asked a still chuckling Ranger.

He just shook his head. "Babe."

"Let's get back out there before they start nibbling again," I said as I walked out of the room.

"Clearly you two are hungry," I said smiling, "since you've resorted to cannibalism. Do you want to get dinner together or do you two have other plans?"

Tina and Lester looked at each and smiled. "No particular plans," Tina said.

"Tina, how about we cook for the guys? I'm on call tonight and given all the excitement from today, I'd rather not go out if that's okay with you all," I said.

Lester looked at me. "Are you cooking, Beautiful?" I nodded and he continued. "Why do you hate us?"

I flipped him a bird and Tina laughed. "Seriously, she's a much better cook now! She can actually make edible things." She sounded shocked so I flipped her off too. Ranger just smiled at me.

"Alright, let's see what we've got. And Lester, unless you want me to poison you on purpose, try to clean up your crap! I moved from New Jersey with less stuff than you have here!"

Lester looked a little sheepish and started picking up his piles of stuff. He hadn't come down with much but he'd bought a ton of souvenirs and random novelty t-shirts.


	66. Chapter 66

_**Chapter 66: Stephanie's POV**_

Tina and I moved into the kitchen and started looking through the fridge and cabinets. We huddled together to discuss options. "How about balsamic chicken?" she suggested. I nodded. She made a kick ass balsamic sauce that was good on everything.

"Ranger will need veggies, though. He's hot but he doesn't know how to enjoy a good meal!" I poked around in the crisper, coming up with several types of veggies. Tina and I had cooked together a lot in the past year, so we worked together well.

We'd made a huge amount of food, but I knew Lester could eat his own body weight in food and I was starving too. Ranger usually ate a pretty decent sized dinner and I figured the adrenaline from today would have made him hungrier than usual. Tina always enjoyed eating, and she said she'd started cooking more healthy and adding veggies to stuff because she liked to eat so much. So we'd need a lot of food to feed the four of us.

I set the breakfast bar with plates, glasses and silverware while Tina scooped the food into the really big white ceramic serving bowl that I usually used for popcorn for movie nights. I didn't cook a ton of food on a regular basis.

I yelled for the guys and told them that dinner was served. They came in and Tina and I smiled when they said it smelled and looked wonderful. I asked for drink orders. Tina wanted Diet Coke, as did I, Lester asked for tea and Ranger wanted water of course. I filled the glasses and set them down at each spot. I put Lester and Ranger on the outside and Tina and I were on the inside.

"Dig in," Tina said and we all sat down. Tina gestured towards me and I put a big heaping scoop of the food on my plate. I put an equally big serving on Ranger's plate and passed the bowl to Tina.

"It's balsamic chicken and veggies with whole wheat penne. So you can eat it without polluting your temple, Ranger," I said the last part with a smirk at Ranger. I'd moved closer to his food choices in the last year but salad would never be a full meal for me. Salad was the thing you had to eat before they gave you the meal.

He just raised an eyebrow and took a bite. "It's very good. Thank you, ladies."

Lester made a comment about taking his life into his hands and Tina smacked him lightly on the back of his head. We'd been watching a lot of NCIS and we called that the Gibbs smack.

I leaned back behind Tina and stuck my tongue out at Lester. "If you don't want to eat my cooking, then give it back!" Lester popped a bite into his mouth and smiled.

"I'll risk it since Tina supervised."

I nudged Tina. "Gibbs smack him again for me since I can't reach."

Lester turned puppy dog eyes on Tina and stuck out his lower lip in a pout. She started giggling and I groaned. "Suckered in by the pout! Oh Tina, I thought you were stronger than that!" I shook her shoulders. "Stand strong, woman! Stand strong!"

That got Lester's pouty lips twitching as he tried not to laugh. I gave him my version of the puppy dog eyes and I pouted out my lip too and made my lips quiver a little. I sniffed, "Lester, you said you don't like my food." I sniffed a little more and put a hitch into my breathing like I was really crying.

Lester burst out laughing and I turned my exaggerated pouty face towards Ranger. "He doesn't like my cooking," I sniffed.

"Want me to beat him up for you, Babe?" Ranger asked with a smile.

I just shot him a look. "I think I've already demonstrated that I can beat up Lester by myself!" I knew that if Lester really was sparring with me with the knowledge that I had some moves, he'd have me pinned in no time, but I enjoyed picking on him that I'd caught him by surprise that one time.

I turned back to Lester. "You going to be nicer to me now or do I have to beat you up again?" He was still laughing but he managed to nod at me.

"Good." I resumed eating, with Tina and Lester giggling on one side and Ranger smiling at me on the other side of me. "Don't forget to save room for my dessert!"

We finished eating and had dessert. Ranger even had a small portion and said it was good.

"It's actually pretty healthy before you start complaining that you don't eat dessert. It's just plain fruit with no extra sugar or anything. The crust is whole wheat flour, just a touch of fake sugar, spices and skim milk. So it's a healthy dessert that even you can eat."

Ranger had just shaken his head at me. He was amused. I wasn't sure if it was because of my antics or because I'd baked a healthy (well, healthier) dessert. Either way, I was just happy that everyone said it was tasty. Even Lester had to admit it was pretty good.

We'd decided to watch TV after dinner. It was "Burn Notice" night so Tina and I argued for that. Lester vehemently opposed it and Ranger just smiled without stating an opinion, so we settled in for a little Michael Weston time. Tina and Lester were snuggled together on the loveseat while I sat next to Ranger on the couch. I had my left leg stretched out on the coffee table to keep my swollen knee elevated.

Lester was yelling at the TV, telling them that they were doing things wrong. Tina and I were threatening him with bodily harm if he didn't shush. Ranger stayed out of it until a car blew up in a spectacular ball of fire that could be seen from the space station.

Then he turned to me. "Babe, you've blown up more cars than any Hollywood director. Has a car ever exploded like that?" He asked with disbelief in his voice.

I had to shake my head no. "But the time the trash truck blew up and rolled over on your Porsche was pretty amazing." Ranger just gave his head a little shake like he couldn't believe I'd just said that.

Tina was clamoring for that story since she'd never heard it before and Lester told her, with frequent interruptions and corrections from me. At the end of the story, Tina looked at Ranger and asked, "But you kept giving her cars? Are you nuts?"

He just shook his head and smiled and dropped a kiss on my hair. He never answered her.

A couple of minutes later, my cell phone rang. I stepped into the kitchen and answered. I walked back in a few minutes later, a little pale and shaky.

**_Author's note: _**_ These two chapters are pretty short so I thought I'd throw out two today instead of just one. _

_I did have one complaint about the asshole cooties, so I'd like to take the opportunity to clarify: it's not about the cooties per se, it's about being covered in someone's blood. I worked in an ER for a couple of years and I was a phlebotomist (the person who draws blood at a doctor's office or hospital) and I don't like getting some random person's blood on me. It's just gross, unless you're Dexter. But that's another subject entirely. Heck, being covered in any blood for any reason is generally icky. So I think the reaction is reasonable, at least to me. If I looked in a mirror and saw that my shirt was covered in blood, I'd probably scream a little as my first reaction too. And I'm a grown up (30) with extensive experience in health care. But I'd appreciate knowing what others think: would you react as I wrote Stephanie doing (screaming and trying to get the bloody shirty away) or would you react differently? How would you react instead?_

_I appreciate all feedback, as long as it's constructive! _


	67. Chapter 67

_**Chapter 67: Stephanie's POV**_

"It was the police. Blondie and Brownie got bonded out, and apparently they were rather vocal to others in the holding cell about planning to get their revenge. Cops wanted to warn me to stay at a hotel or to be on guard tonight," I said, getting everyone's attention.

"Do you really think they'd be dumb enough to come back here after me?" I'd known some really stupid skips in my day, but most weren't dumb enough to risk fighting with Ranger a second time. Hell, most wouldn't even risk it the first time!

Ranger just nodded. "They weren't exactly smart to attack you in public like that, Babe."

"I know, but still! You'd think they'd be smarter than to try again with us since it didn't exactly go well the first time," I cried.

Lester just shook his head. "These guys are too cocky, they think they have all the right moves. Have probably convinced themselves that it was only because they were drunk and didn't suspect you to be a ninja woman that you were able to take them down. And Blondie was dumb enough to keep coming at Ranger. Seem pretty damn stupid to me, and maybe stupid enough to try for an encore."

Ranger just nodded. "I've seen a lot of cocky young soldiers like that. If they're convinced they can take us, they might try."

I looked at Ranger and Lester in askance. "Okay, ignoring the part where I beat them up, why would even semi-rational people voluntarily go up against you two? I've seen skips cuff themselves because you glared at them!"

"Stupidity, Babe," was all Ranger could say.

"Okay, so what do we do then? They already know that I work here and I'd guess they'd come back here if they were dumb enough to tackle you guys again," I asked.

"Well, we certainly aren't leaving either of you alone," Lester said.

"Why me?" Tina asked.

"Don't forget that we're twins, apparently," I told her. "Especially in the dark with pissed off guys, we'd look alike. If you can fool Ranger, then you could definitely be mistaken for me!" I said. Ranger and Lester just nodded.

"Who's got the desk tonight?" Tina asked me.

I had to think about it for a minute. "Pretty sure it's Tom, but let me check." I went up the stairs slowly to find my files on my desk. "Yep, it's Tom tonight."

"Okay," Tina said. "I'll call in some of the security guards to do extra rounds tonight. I have a couple of buddies on the police force and I'll see if they'll do frequent drive bys tonight just to be safe. I'll warn Tom about the threat and to not give any info about Steph to anyone who asks."

She thought about it for another moment. "And I can call some friends at Gragg to see if anyone knows these two and if they are dumb enough to come after us again."

Ranger nodded at that. "I'll call in some contacts as well, see what they know about how these two guys would react. How much training they have, any weapons, that sort of thing."

I nodded. "Okay, so you two go make your calls. I'll call Tom and the night security guys while you're both calling Army guys."

While the three of us were on the phone, Lester went and changed into his all black Rangeman gear and came out loaded for bear with guns hanging off his hip and I was sure there were more hidden that I couldn't see. Ranger nodded approvingly at him.

I'd finished my calls and decided to change too. I didn't have my black Rangeman stuff since that was all left at Ranger's with Ella, but I did have some dark wash jeans and a black long sleeved t-shirt. I wasn't quite a mini-Ranger, but it would have to do. I assumed that we'd be on stakeout tonight watching for the morons and I wanted to be prepared. I found my utility belt and buckled it on, and then stuck my stun gun in one holder. I had more batteries in the kitchen and my gun was in my cookie jar / gun safe.

Tina and Ranger were still on the phone, so Lester and I started packing up some snacks to get us through the long night ahead of us. I figured we'd split into two teams and I was not sitting in the woods all night freezing my ass off without junk food.

I was quietly chatting with Lester when Ranger walked into the kitchen with his blank face on. From the tension in his body, I was assuming that whatever he learned wasn't good news. "What's up?" I asked him.

He glanced towards Tina, who was still on the phone. "We'll wait until she's done."

I rolled my eyes but I could understand that he'd only want to go over whatever he learned the one time.

Lester had his arm around my shoulders and he was trying to reassure me that everything would be fine, not to worry. He'd morphed into my little brother over the last few weeks. I'm not actually sure which of us was chronologically older, but regardless of actual age, he was my little brother now. Annoying at times but I loved him and I knew he loved me. I just wanted to strangle him about half the time.

Ranger stood and watched Lester and I tease each other. He was in bodyguard mode with his arms crossed over his chest and his face blank. Menace radiated off him and I would not want to be one of those two idiots if they tangled with Ranger now. He'd rip their heads off without breaking a sweat.

Tina walked in and saw Lester and I teasing each other. "Behave children," she told us. Ranger stayed in his zone, so with one final poke at Lester's shoulder, we all walked into the living room and sat down.

Tina sighed and then started talking. "I spoke with a couple of friends at Bragg. Most of them have heard of these two guys and none of it was good. Apparently they spend almost as much time in the brig as they do with their squad. They wanted to go out for Rangers but they didn't have the service record to even apply. Too many drunken and disorderly reports, fighting in town, that sort of thing. Not exactly who you want in your special forces I guess."

Lester nodded. "To be a Ranger, you have to have a strong and clean service record. And honestly, from what I saw, those two don't have the skills to make it in the Rangers. No offense, Steph, but you shouldn't have been able to take them down true Ranger candidates that easily."

I stuck my tongue out at Lester but I agreed. "I know. For all that I tease you about beating you up, I know that in a real fight you'd knock my ass out in no time. I just caught you with the element of surprise and you didn't want to hurt me."

Ranger and Lester both nodded at that. In the dangerous mood that Ranger was in, I probably wouldn't even throw one punch before I was on the way to the hospital.

"My contacts also had bad things to say about these two. Jorgenson, or Blondie," he looked at me, "seems to be the instigator. Michaels, or Brownie, is the follower. Michaels overall seems to be a pretty decent soldier until he got in with Jorgenson. Jorgenson is a true loose cannon and well on his way to a court marshal. I spoke to their CO and he's beyond pissed that they attacked you. He's given me permission to do anything short of sending them back in a body bag if they show up here tonight." Ranger's jaw clenched. "I couldn't promise they wouldn't be coming back in a body bag depending on what they tried to do. CO wouldn't be surprised if they tried to attack us tonight. Jorgenson holds grudges and Michaels does whatever Jorgenson says. So we have to be prepared."

I nodded. "I figured we'd be on stakeout tonight so I've got bags packed with snacks and drinks. I've called in all available security guards and asked Mike to come in and stay with Tom at the front desk."

Ranger looked like he was carved out of granite. "Steph and I will take the main entrance. Santos and Tina will watch the side entrance. We'll need to have your security guards roving around the grounds."

Tina nodded. "I have four guards here tonight. Other than the two entrances that we'll be watching, the only way in is through the woods. It's be a little tough in the woods at night but it's not impossible."

"I told our security guards that. They're all either ex-military or retired police. They'll work in pairs and will alert us to anyone walking around, movement, that kind of stuff. They aren't usually armed, but they all will be tonight. They'll have their walkies and we can grab a few from the main office too," I said.

Ranger glanced at his watch and then looked at us. "We'll plan to leave here as soon you're ready."

I was already ready, dressed in dark clothes as close as I could get to Rangeman black. Lester was duded up looking like a one-man invasion force. Tina and Ranger would need to change.

Lester walked Tina next door so she could change and grab some stuff for the stakeout. We all knew it could be a very long night.


	68. Chapter 68

_**Chapter 68: Stephanie's POV**_

It was cool in the evenings in the mountains, so I grabbed a black zip up fleece jacket and an fluffy dark brown blanket off the couch. I'd already packed my iPod though I knew from previous experience that Ranger wouldn't let me listen to music while on a stakeout.

Once Tina came back dressed in black head to toe with a rifle, jacket and blanket, Ranger stood. His items were in his room in the inn, and we'd need to go there for him to get changed and grab more weapons and I was sure he had with him. He is Batman, after all.

I gave Tina and Lester a hug and apologized for the trouble I was causing. Tina Gibb's smacked me and told me it wasn't my fault that they were morons and to stop thinking like that. They grabbed their bag of supplies and headed out to Tina's Subaru to get in position watching the side entrance.

Ranger and I got ready to walk out and I stopped by my cookie jar to get out my little .38 revolver. I didn't really like guns, but I liked death and mayhem less so I'd carry it. I double-checked that it was loaded and grabbed the box of shells and stuffed them into the bag of supplies.

Ranger just shook his head. He could never understand why I kept my gun in my cookie jar. Hey, Rockford did it.

I tapped on Rex's cage and told him to be a good boy, and then we headed up to the inn. We drove my CR-V to the inn but Ranger said that he didn't want to use it as our stakeout vehicle because the goons had seen it this afternoon at the restaurant. He came out looking like Rambo and the painted on cargos and t-shirt made me want to do more than just watch for idiots but I managed to restrain myself.

We walked to Ranger's rental Mustang and he drove around until he found a position he liked where we could get a wide view of the road, parking lot and the inn. I slid the seat back and reclined the seat slightly to get comfy.

I grabbed the walkie talkie and called Tina and Lester on it. "We're in position on the hill above the garden. We're in Ranger's red Mustang," I said.

"We're backed up into the tree line near the side entrance," Tina said. "Nothing so far."

Then I heard Lester's voice saying, "Guess they were out of black, huh boss?"

Ranger didn't move a muscle. "He's not a happy camper tonight, guys. I'm probably in more danger from him if I annoy him than from the bad guys at this point," I joked. Still no movement, his eyes focused straight ahead.

I sat quietly beside him for a few minutes, watching for any movement.

After about fifteen minutes, Ranger finally spoke, scaring me half to death. "You're never in any danger from me, Babe."

He looked like he thought about smiling when I jumped in my seat at his voice.

"Well, that heart attack you just gave me would prove otherwise!" I said when I was able to get my voice back. Sheesh, warn a girl or something.

"I'd forgotten how boring stakeouts are," I said a while later out of sheer boredom. I wasn't someone who could handle being silent and motionless. I needed to be doing something pretty much all of the time.

"Babe," was all Ranger said.

We sat in silence several hours while I was trying really, really hard not to fall sleep. My head slumped forward at one point and the sensation of moving forward jerked me out of my brief sleep and I sat up in alarm, looking around.

Ranger just gave a slight shake of his head. "My ass is asleep and I need to pee," I told Ranger.

"No," Ranger said.

"What do you mean, no? You can't tell me how I feel!" I was cranky. I don't do bored well.

"Deal with it," Ranger said.

I stuck my tongue out at him and started wiggling around in the seat of his Mustang, trying to get blood flowing to my frozen cheeks.

"Babe," he said.

"Look, Mr. sit in the zone, I can't sit still this long. If I don't get the blood flowing to my ass again, they'll have to amputate it and I'll lose one of my best assets. No thanks. So _you_ deal with it!"

Ranger just let out a very soft sigh, barely audible. I wasn't the only one going a little nuts tonight. It was almost three in the morning, way past my bedtime, and I was stuck on a stakeout with Ranger in the cold. Not really my idea of a good time. Well, the Ranger part was, but not so much the late, cold, cranky frozen ass part of it.

My ass stopped tingling so I stopped wiggling. Maybe I had enough blood flowing now to keep it from turning Smurf blue. I'd loved the Smurfs as a kid but I really didn't want my tush to look like it belonged on Smurfette.


	69. Chapter 69

_**Chapter 69: Stephanie's POV**_

I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew was the walkie talkie cackling with Lester's voice. I was wrapped in my blanket and my head was resting on Ranger's shoulder. At Lester's voice, I shot up in my seat and looked around. "Wha?" I asked, blinking rapidly to clear my eyes.

"Movement in the woods near the duck pond," Lester said.

"Observe and report," Ranger barked.

Several minutes later, Tina spoke. "Two guys, looks like it could be the fuckers from this morning based on body size. They aren't close enough for us to get a good look yet, but I'd guess it was them."

"On our way to your position," Ranger said and then opened his car door. I got out to follow him.

"Ready for a run, Babe?" he asked me.

I looked down at my injured knee. "A jog, maybe, but I don't think I can do a flat run with my knee."

Ranger nodded. "Try to be as quiet as possible. Let me know if I need to slow down." Ranger checked his arsenal around his waist and turned the walkie talkie down to a whisper and then took off in a quick jog towards Tina and Lester.

After about five minutes, my knee was screaming at me to stop. "Ranger, wait!" I whispered. He turned around and looked at me and was instantly by my side supporting me. I was breathing hard from the pain, not exertion, but I didn't think my knee could take much more.

"Too much for you, Babe?" he asked.

I nodded. "My knee can't handle this fast of a pace. I'm sorry." I chewed on my lower lip, I knew we need to get there quickly but I simply couldn't keep going with the agony in my knee.

He kissed my forehead. "Don't apologize. Can you walk?"

"Yeah, if we go slower. But it can't handle a jog anymore."

"How close are we?" he asked.

I looked around and tried to get my bearings. It was really dark and we'd moved into the trees to stay out of sight. I squinted in the darkness towards the inn. "About another two or three minutes walk, I think."

He nodded and started forward at a slower pace. I was hobbling along behind him when I heard a noise and reached out to grab the back of Ranger's shirt. He was beside me and I pulled his head down towards me so I could whisper in his ear. "I heard something," I whispered as softly as I could in his ear. He nodded and stepped in front of me, his gun drawn and his eyes scanning the area.

I heard another noise coming from the left and I touched Ranger's arm and pointed left. He faced that direction and froze. Then he pointed for me to get behind a large tree. I quietly slid behind the tree and pulled my .38. Ranger had vanished while I was getting situated. Still not convinced he's not a vampire but now wasn't the time to speculate.

A moment later, I had to stifle a scream when Ranger came up behind me and put one hand around my mouth and his mouth to my ear.

"Both are sneaking towards the inn," he whispered in my ear.

I just nodded, my heart beating frantically. "Stay here," he whispered and then he was gone again without making a single sound. Maybe it was time to think about whether Cuba had vampires. Something to Google.

An eon later, or so it seemed, Ranger was back. Again he whispered in my ear. "Santos and Tina are on their way to help flank them. Security guards are coming to the inn. Police are on the way quietly."

I nodded. He motioned for me to follow him and I did carefully for a couple of minutes. I couldn't hear Ranger making any noise but I could hear the faint sounds my own feet made as they slowly crossed through the woods. I could see the two bodies in the middle of the lawn we use for weddings and other special events.

Ranger brought the walkie talkie to his mouth. "Now!" he whispered and the flood lights flashed on. The two guys in the middle of the lawn froze. People rushed towards them shouting. Ranger took off running and I could see Lester and Tina running in from the trees several hundred feet away.

The two Army guys were in the open with nowhere to run since people were rushing in from all directions. The only place they had left to go was into the duck pond and that wouldn't help them much.

Blondie suddenly reached for his back and I yelled "Gun!" at the top of my lungs.

The cops started yelling even louder at him to stop. He had a gun in his hands pointed towards the cops, a big no-no, when they all dropped to their knees with their weapons pointed straight at the two men.

Brownie put his hands above his head and then dropped down to his belly with his hands laced behind his head. He was at least smart enough to know that standing next to an armed man with police surrounding him wasn't a good idea. He didn't want to get caught in the middle.

Blondie blustered for a moment but finally gave up when he looked around and saw a ring of armed people surrounding him. He knew there was no way to get out alive if he started firing.

He finally surrendered and the police searched both men before jerking them roughly to their feet. Each man was heavily armed and Blondie had a messenger bag slung across his shoulders that also included several bottles of liquor, rags and a couple of lighters. Clearly a little arson had been on his mind. They were really stupid, no question about it.

The police questioned all of us before letting us go. I gave up standing and just flopped down to sit on the ground while waiting for everything to get squared away. The cop assured us that he'd do everything he could to get the judge to not allow bail since they'd obviously planned to attack the inn tonight.

Ranger pulled out his cell phone and made a phone call. He returned with a small smile on his face. "Just spoke to their base CO," he said, "and he promised to have MPs here today with an order to return them to Bragg for a court marshal and criminal proceedings for attacking civilians. They won't get out on bail from that."

The cop just smiled hugely and nodded. "A few years in Leavenworth ought to help their attitude a bit," he said.

I was too tired to be enthusiastic. I just wanted a bathroom and my bed. Ranger of course noticed this and shook hands with the local cops, thanking them for their assistance.

He pulled me to my feet and wrapped his arm around my shoulder, helping to support my weight since my knee wasn't really happy with me at present. Since we weren't trying to be stealthy in the woods, it wasn't too long of a walk to his Mustang. I saw Lester walking Tina back to their car as well.


	70. Chapter 70

_**Chapter 70: Stephanie's POV**_

A few minutes later, Ranger pulled in my parking spot at the duplex. Tina's Subaru was already back in its spot. I dragged myself out of the car and trudged up to the porch. I opened the door, expecting Tina and Lester to be there, but it was quiet. They must be in Tina's side of the building already. I started slowly up the stairs when Ranger picked me up and carried me.

"I can walk," I said, putting up a token protest. Honestly, though, it felt nice to be cuddled up to Ranger's chest. He put me down in the bathroom and I took care of business and made a half-asses effort to swipe off my makeup before I said to hell with it and walked out to go to bed still in my t-shirt. Ranger was gone so I just crawled under my sheets and fell asleep quickly from sheer exhaustion. The Loch Ness Monster could be in bed with me and I'd still not care.

I woke up quickly. One minute I was asleep and the next minute I was wide-awake and trying to figure out who was in bed with me. I was pretty sure I'd gone to bed alone.

After all that I'd been through in the previous day with the attacks by Dumb and Dumber, also known as Blondie and Brownie, it's not a shocker that I came awake swinging. I actually managed to get a good kick into the person's stomach, hard enough to push him off the bed. I jumped off the other side of the bed and let out a blood-curdling scream.

I had picked up a boot lying on the other side of the bed and was holding it like a weapon when a head popped up over the edge. I finally recognized Ranger and dropped to the floor holding my head together with my hands. My heart was pounding so hard that I had to hold my brains together lest they simply fly out of my head. My blood pressure was approaching stroke level.

I heard pounding on the stairs and then the door flew open. "What the…?" I heard but all I could do was lie on the floor and try to catch my breath.

The next thing I knew, I was being lifted off the floor and rocked like a baby. I was having a delayed panic attack, but I'd been through more than I could handle and my body just shut down temporarily.

When I was next capable of coherent thought, which could have been one minute or ten hours later, Ranger was whispering to me in Spanish. I had no idea what he was saying or what it meant, but it was calming me. I finally opened my eyes and looked into Ranger's concerned brown eyes.

"Hi," I mumbled, looking around to get my bearings. I was in my bedroom.

"Babe," Ranger murmured back to me. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I've been run over by a Mac truck," I replied. "What happened?"

Lester started chuckling from behind Ranger. I hung my head off of Ranger's shoulder to peek around him. He was in nothing but boxers with a gun in his hand.

"Nice boxers," I said to Lester. He just smiled at me with an outrageous wink.

"You know you love looking at my sexy body," he tried to growl at me in a sexy way.

"Since I think of you like a little brother, not so much, no. And I meant the SpongeBob boxers, man. Aren't you a little old for those?"

Ranger was still rocking me and I was starting to feel a little bit seasick.

"Please stop," I told Ranger. He moved his arms and started to move away, a hurt look on his face.

"No," I said, grabbing at his arms, "I meant stop rocking me before I get seasick."

Ranger just gave me a slight smile. "Babe."

"So, what happened?" I asked, looking from Ranger to Lester. I was very confused.

Lester started laughing again. So I just glared at him.

"What do you remember, Babe?" Ranger asked me. I had to think about that for a moment.

"After catching the two idiots, I came back, used the bathroom and went to bed," I said.

"What do you remember after that?" Ranger asked.

"Waking up on a boat," I replied.

Lester just laughed harder at that. Ranger turned and looked over this shoulder at Lester and whatever was on Ranger's face convinced Lester to shut the hell up. Quickly. But the smile was still on Lester's face.

"We'd been asleep about an hour when you suddenly kicked me in the stomach, jumped out of the bed and then started screaming. Then you collapsed behind the bed and I picked you up. You were out of it for about three minutes," Ranger explained.

"Tell her all of it, cuz," Lester added. I shot him a look. There's more?

Ranger looked like he might have blushed slightly. "You kicked me out of the bed," he admitted. Holy shit, I actually kicked Batman out of the bed?

Ranger caught the look of disbelief on my face and nodded sheepishly. "You got a kick like a mule there, Babe. If that's how hard you kicked Michaels in the head, I'm surprised he was even conscious enough to try to set the inn on fire."

"I'm, oh God, I'm so sorry!" I said, stuttering a little. "Are you okay?"

I pulled myself up out of Ranger's lap and swayed for a moment. There were two Rangers for a few seconds until they came back together. Thank God, I didn't think I could handle two Rangers. I was having enough difficulty with the one.

He nodded. "Probably have a big bruise but I'm fine. Hell of a kick."

I pushed his shoulders back and he obediently leaned back so I could examine his stomach. He did have a big red area that would probably turn into a pretty good bruise eventually. It may have been the old time that I was ever able to examine Ranger's abs from only a few inches away without being turned on, but I felt so guilty that I'd kicked him that I didn't even think about his eight-pack of abs as being sexy as hell until later. Not thinking of Ranger as sexy tells you how worried and guilty I felt.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, one tear sliding down my cheek.

Ranger sat back up and wrapped his arms around me. "Shh, it's okay. You probably just had a bad dream from everything that's happened."

"I don't remember it," I admitted. "I'd just climbed into bed and then I woke up and you were holding me. I don't remember anything in between."

"Since there's no obvious threat here," Lester said, "I'll let you two talk." Then he slipped out of the room and I heard him walking down the stairs.

"I'm sorry," I said again but at least I didn't cry this time.

"It's fine, querida [sweetheart], don't worry. I'm sorry that I scared you enough to kick me. Apparently me sleeping with you leads to you having bad dreams," he said sadly, remembering the last time when I'd woken up beating him.

"When I fell asleep, I was alone," I said. "So when I woke up and there was someone there, it freaked me out I guess."

"It's fine, Babe. Good to know you can protect yourself from anyone, including me," he tried to reassure me.

"So why were you in my bed?" I asked. I was nearly 100% sure that I'd gone to bed alone.

Ranger looked a little sheepish at that. "You looked too cute to resist."

I rolled my eyes at him but then I yawned. I moved to cover my mouth but I could feel the tears rolling down my cheeks from the wide yawn. I blinked a few times to clear my eyes and Ranger was smiling at me.

"Will you be okay if I sleep here? Or you want me to go wrestle Santos for the couch?" he asked. Mini hot flash at the idea of Les and Ranger wresting since they were both only wearing boxers. And Ranger was in teeny, tiny black boxers. Yum.

"No promises, Batman," I said as I scrambled back under the covers. I smiled at him and then winked. "Do you like to live dangerously?"

He grinned at me. An actual, honest to God grin. He looked like a mischievous little boy, except Dennis the Menace didn't have muscles like that. I must have looked a little stunned because he gave me a look. "Babe," he said and I could tell he was asking what I was thinking.

I shook myself slightly. "You've never grinned at me like that before!" I said. He still looked a bit confused so I elaborated. "It's adorable."

He looked rather disgusted. "I don't do adorable, Babe."

I held up the covers for him in silent invitation and he climbed into bed beside me. I kissed him on the cheek and cuddled up to him. "Girls like adorable." Then I was back asleep.


	71. Chapter 71

_**Chapter 71: Stephanie's POV**_

This time, when I woke up it wasn't to kick ass. I woke up with Ranger's arms wrapped around me and me pretty much wrapped around him like a hungry boa constrictor. Judging by the actions of his boa constrictor poking me in the thigh, I don't think he minded much.

I lifted my head off his chest and grinned at him. I was lying more on him than off, which is actually pretty typical for me and Ranger. I'm not athletic in any other part of my life usually, but I'm all about sleeping calisthenics.

"Morning," I said with a smile.

"Afternoon, Babe," he responded. Holy crap, what time is it? I leaned over him to get a look at my alarm clock and paused when I heard a slight groan.

I pulled back in alarm. "What's wrong?" I asked.

He shot me an evil look. "What?" I asked again. No answer. "You groaned," I explained. He just continued to look at me for a moment.

Oh. OH! I scampered away from him and buried my head under my pillow. I was really hoping that the next ice age would start very soon so I never had to crawl out from under my pillow. I knew my body was beet red in embarrassment.

I heard a low chuckle behind me and then the pillow was unceremoniously plucked off of my head. I refused to open my eyes. I'm the queen of denial. If I don't see it, it didn't happen. I happen to like the ostrich strategy, thank you very much!

"Babe," I heard him whisper against my neck and my body involuntarily shivered. The Hungarian hormones broke out into the old Pointer Sister's song "It's Raining Men" and they were particularly exuberant in yelling out hallelujah.

I felt myself being lifted and turned over onto my back. Nope, still not going to open my eyes.

When I felt his lips on mine, my eyes show open in surprise. It was a gentle, loving kiss, nothing like I'd expected from a naked (well, mostly) Ranger.

He pulled back slightly and grinned into my slightly unfocused eyes. In my infinite maturity, I just stuck my tongue out at him. He just pulled me close to his side and wrapped one arm around me.

"Sorry I smushed you in my sleep," I apologized. Ranger just shot me a look like there was no conceivable way that I'd ever smush or squish him. How sweet.

"I missed this, Babe," Ranger said as he tightened his arm around my waist.

I just threw my arm around his waist and sighed into his shoulder. "Me too," I finally admitted. I had missed Ranger and I'd missed just sleeping with him. Yeah, we had that one night of sex, but mostly I missed the cuddling and the mornings waking up knowing that I was safe and secure in his arms. My hormones really missed the sex, though, and they were making that very apparent.

We just laid together cuddling for a while until the call of nature dragged me out of bed and into my bathroom. I tackled the Medusa hair and the raccoon eyes before I reemerged. Ranger was still lying on my bed with his arms behind his head.

He looked at me and gave me a small smile. I sat on the edge of the bed and just looked at him. "So what's on the agenda for today, Batman? Sparring with Navy Seals? Or maybe Delta Force?" I winked.

He just grinned at me and shook his head. "I hope not, Babe. I don't think I could handle seeing you in trouble again."

I reached out and patted his leg under the covers. "I was fine and then you beat the snot out of Blondie. Everything is fine."

"I know you've been doing kickboxing, but why did you decide to learn all the self-defense moves?" he asked.

I flopped over with a sigh and cuddled up next to Ranger again. "At first, because Tina made me. She said punching and kicking would be a good way to get rid of some residual anger and general pissiness. She was right. Crank up some AC/DC and let me go on a punching bag. And given my history of crazies coming after me, I figured it would be helpful to know how to get myself out of trouble since I knew that Batman wouldn't be swooping in to help me," I finally answered.

"If I'd known where you were, I'd have been here. You know that," he replied.

"The thing is that I needed to be on my own two feet. I needed to be more than a line item in your entertainment budget," I said with a trace of hurt and bitterness in my voice.

Ranger turned over to look me in the eyes. "You were never just a line item, Babe. You brought a little bit of light and happiness into our lives. All of us have a lot of dark secrets but it helped to know that you were there and you liked us just as we are."

"Oh." Not the most scintillating comment, huh?

"I had to leave, Ranger. I've had a year where I'm not the joke, I'm not the screw up. I've become very good at my job. I'm actually really good at organization and administration. Who'd thunk it?" I smiled, trying to get back to a light and fluffy tone.

Ah, crap. Ranger wasn't buying it. "Everyone missed you. Me most of all."

Too serious! Danger, Will Robinson, danger! "Maybe absence really does make the heart grow fonder," I replied glibly. I'm not sure I was awake enough yet to handle a serious talk with Ranger.

He just tucked me closer to him and kissed my forehead. "Your absence made me realize a lot of things, Babe. Mostly that regardless of what we called it, we had a relationship already and I was trying so hard to protect both of us that I didn't even notice it until you weren't there anymore."

Ranger paused for a moment, like he was trying to gather his thoughts. "You say that I rescued you, but you also rescued me too. When I was FTA with the Ramos stuff, you didn't ask questions, you didn't ask if I did it. You just asked if I was okay. You tailed a psycho mob boss for me just to try to clear my name. You willingly got kidnapped so you could try to help my daughter when Scrog had her. You figured out who was trying to ruin my business. You've helped me as much as I've helped you. You don't know how much that means to me. It's hard for a man like me to admit that he needs help. I'm supposed to be the protector. I've been trained for it. But here you come along and you figure out things and you find a way to fix them somehow. It's incredible."

Wow, that may be the most I've ever heard him say at one time.

"And it's not just with me," he continued. "You try to help your crazy grandma. You let your sister stay in your apartment before your dad killed himself to get away. You take care of my men like they're your own. You saved Lula's life. You adopt half your skips. There's just something about you, Babe, that makes everyone love you. And I did too without even realizing it."

I'm pretty sure my jaw was hanging open after this. Ranger wasn't really the talkative type, so I was flabbergasted by his words. And the sheer number of words.

Holy crap, is he talking again?

"I'd like to think that I would have eventually figured it out if you'd stayed in Trenton. I'd like to think that I'm not that stupid. But probably I am. I've been holding you at arms length for years because I thought it would protect both of us. It was probably best that you left for a while so all of us who love you could realize how important you are, so we could understand how having you in our lives makes it better."

Hmm. "I know that you thought that pushing me away was the way to protect me from your crazies, but how did it help you?" I wanted to know.

"It was like watching a tennis match to watch you and the cop. You were together, then you weren't. Seemed like every time I started to think maybe you two were over for good, you'd go back to him. It left me with my pride if nothing else to push you away since I knew that eventually you'd go back to him," he explained after a pause of a few moments.

I had to think about that for a minute. I guess I could see how my break up then make up relationship with Joe looked from the outside. I'd known for a long time that I could never really marry Joe and live the life he wanted. I'd tried but that just wasn't me. But I guess no one else, including Batman, could tell that by just watching us. It was just easier to be in a not so great relationship with Joe than to be alone.

They say actions speak louder than words, and if you look at Ranger's actions, it was pretty clear that he loved me. He was always the first one there to just check on me when something crazy happened. He gave me cars worth more than my parent's house when one of mine blew up. He assigned his Merry Men to watch me, to take care of me, when he couldn't. He wasn't a big talker, until now, but he'd call just to see how my day was when there was some stupid rumor circulating about me. I knew that if I needed help, he would give it to me. He let me stay in his apartment even though he's a really private person. He tried to get me to eat better and exercise to be better at my job as a bounty hunter. When I was out of money and almost homeless, he'd make it seem like I was doing him a favor by coming to work at Rangeman until I was back on my feet. He took care of me when I needed it and helped me to fly. He didn't try to cage me, he just tried to keep me safe.

All of these revelations before coffee were just too much for me, especially after the long couple of days and sleepless nights that I'd had. I felt a tear leak out of one eye and I tried to turn away but Ranger wouldn't let me. He just pulled me close and tucked my head into his neck, letting me hide without pulling away.

Once I'd gotten myself back under control, I pulled away and he reluctantly let me. "I never knew how you felt about me," I admitted. "You were so confusing. You'd pull me into the alley and kiss the daylights out of me, but then you were gone. You'd help me with anything I needed, but you sent me back to Joe. I figured you just didn't want me in your life like that. So it was easier to keep a crappy relationship with Joe. He was comfortable and at least I felt like someone wanted me since it seemed like you didn't."

Ranger just kept his gaze steady on me. "I wanted you from the moment I saw you but I didn't realize how much I needed you emotionally until you were gone. I didn't realize how often I'd called you or came over to your apartment after I'd had a shitty day until you weren't there for me to call anymore."

"I was afraid to really, truly end it with Joe even though I knew it wasn't going anywhere because I was too afraid of being alone. That wasn't fair to Joe, you or me. But without knowing how you felt, I was afraid to take the leap. When I left, I finally took the leap but it was severing all ties, not just the romantic ones. I just felt like I'd explode if I stayed even one more day," I tried to explain. "I think things worked out for the best. If I had stayed, it would have just been more of the same. At least by leaving, I was able to discover that I'm not a constant screw up, I learned that I can do things without ending up covered in garbage."

Ranger didn't say anything but I knew he was still hurt that I'd vanished.

"I did miss you though. I realized that you were the only person who ever said they were proud of me. Not my mom, not Joe, just you. So there were days when something went right, when I was able to negotiate a great deal or something, when I wanted to call you so bad I could barely stand it just to hear you say that you were proud of me."

"Babe, I'm always proud of you. You have the determination to do anything in life, from bringing in skips to figuring out puzzles. You have the best instincts of just about anyone I've ever known. My only real worry was that you didn't take the physical side of things seriously and I was always worried that you'd get in trouble and I couldn't get to you in time. But you've pretty much taken care of that now. If we could only get you used to shooting, you'd be an even better bounty hunter."

I smiled. "Does laser tag and paintball count? If so, I already rock."

Ranger laughed and raised an eyebrow at me. I smiled again. "There's a place about a half-hour from here where you can play laser tag and paintball. Tina and I go once or twice a month with some of the employees for team building exercises. It's fun! If you're ever here when we go, you should come with us. But you have to be on my team." I winked at him. There would be no way that anyone could beat us if Ranger was on my team. I mean, the man shot real bad guys for a living, no way a bunch of college kids could beat him.

Ranger just grinned at me. I leaned in a kissed his nose. "You'd be my secret weapon!" I thought about it for a minute. "That might be a fun team activity for RangeMan sometime."

Ranger just shook his head, looking amused. Good to know that I was so amusing.

"You want to hear something funny?" I asked Ranger. He nodded. "I feel like I've learned more about you in the last two days than the previous three years combined."

Both eyebrows raised in shock. "Babe, you know me better than all but a handful of people in the world. Only a couple of guys at Rangeman and a few family members know me as well as you do."

"I know some parts of you. I know you're an honorable man and a good man, even when you're Stark Street Ranger and act really scary. I know those things. But I don't know the things _about_ you," I put the emphasis on the word about. "I don't know about your childhood, your likes and dislikes, other than your ridiculous no dessert thing. I don't know where you live, where the never-ending supply of black cars that I sent to car heaven actually come from. It might seem minor to you but those are the details that help to fill in the big picture. You know pretty much everything about my life, but I know next to nothing about yours."

Ranger just kept looking at me. I needed him to understand how I felt. "I know you're a private person and I respect that. For all the secrets that are spread about me, I do actually keep secrets pretty well. And it's not just the knowing it all, although I really would like to know about you as a kid, as a little Batboy, but mostly it's just knowing that you would tell me those things. That I wouldn't be locked out completely. That I could even ask without you shooting me the look."

"What look are you talking about?" he asked.

"The one that looks like you're trying to decide whether to send me to Somalia or Siberia for asking questions," I answered.

He just laughed. "You watch too much 'Burn Notice', Babe," he said through his laughter. I just shot him a skeptical look.

"But seriously, anytime I tried to get to know you a little bit, you froze me out. Your blank face would slam down and you'd start sending out the shut the hell up vibes big time. So I finally stopped asking you even the causal, friendly things, like did you watch 'It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown' TV special as a kid when we'd see a commercial for it. Things that aren't classified and wouldn't require you to kill me if you told me," I explained.

Ranger looked thoughtful. "I guess it's the training. You're trained not to tell the enemy anything about yourself so they can't use it against you. Even something innocent can be used against you."

"But why am I the enemy?" I persisted.

"You aren't. But it's not exactly easy to turn that on and off. Most of the guys at RangeMan who know me well, especially Tank and Bobby, have known me for years and we've served together in all kinds of shitholes. Same with Lester except he's also known me since we were little kids. We'd been on fucked up missions before where you don't expect to make it back home. When you have to depend on the others to protect your back while you've got theirs, that creates a bond even stronger than family. Really no one outside of my family and a couple of Army shrinks know much about my childhood. Probably Lester knows me best of all like that, but he uses that knowledge to make me crazy!" Ranger sounded annoyed with Lester and I tried unsuccessfully to smother a giggle.

He shot me a glare and I just smiled at him. "So maybe I should get Lester to tell me stories about growing up with Batboy?"

Ranger's eyes narrowed and that made me laugh. "No," he said firmly.

"Well, that's certainly succinct," I replied.

"So are you leaning more towards Siberia or Somalia for me right now? I need to know how to pack."


	72. Chapter 72

_**Author's note: **__After the emotional conversation from the next chapter, I figured it was time to pull back a little and go for more humor. Let me know what you think, please!_

_**Chapter 72:**_

Ranger started to say something but I sat up straight in bed instead. Ranger reached for his gun and was looking for threats in a heartbeat. Not seeing anything overtly threatening, he turned back to look at me. I'm pretty sure I had a look of pure lust on my face on judging by the strangled gasp that I heard from him. I smiled and jumped out of the bed.

"Santos, keep your hands to yourself or you will die and slow and painful death!" I shrieked. I heard Lester's laughter drifting up the stairs.

Ranger was still looking at me in confusion. "Breakfast," I threw over my shoulder as I hopped down the stairs on one foot since my left leg was still pretty sore this morning.

"Babe, you aren't dressed!" Ranger tried to slow me down.

"Don't care, maybe my lacy ass will distract the two of you long enough. Hell, I'll take the shirt off too if it means Santos keeps his hands off my breakfast!" I joked back.

"What the…?" I heard Ranger mutter behind me and Lester was flat out laughing trying to keep from rolling on the floor. Even Tina was giggling at me now.

I skidded to a stop at the breakfast bar and Ranger crashed into my back. Lester moved towards the breakfast bar and I reached forward and jerked him back by his SpongeBob boxers. "Don't even think about it!"

That made Lester start to laugh again and I took advantage of his laughter and Ranger's confusion to launch myself at the stack of pancakes on the breakfast bar. I grabbed the plate of golden brown pancakes and drowned them in syrup. I grabbed my fork in one hand and a knife in the other. When Lester tried to reach around me, I jabbed him with the knife. "Mine!" I yelled. Then I started moaning loudly with each bite. Lester had tears running down his face and Tina was giggling so hard she couldn't stand up straight.

"You'll lose that hand if you put it near my 'cakes again, Jester," I threatened, using my new, and much hated, nickname for him. I kept shoveling pancakes into my mouth. My eyes were locked on Lester, trying to anticipate his moves like we were in a life or death struggle.

"What the hell is going on?" Ranger roared.

"He'll try to eat my pancakes. I love these pancakes. He will not touch my pancakes." I tried to explain, but Ranger still seemed incredibly confused.

Without taking my eyes off of Lester, I motioned Ranger closer. "C'here." He came closer and I put a small piece of pancake onto my fork and held it up. "Try this."

Ranger sighed and then took the bite, and even he moaned a little. As soon as he was in front of me, Lester reached towards the plate of pancakes. I catapulted myself away from the breakfast bar and took him down to the ground. Then I jumped back up and stood guard over my pancakes again. "Mine!"

Ranger tried to reach around me to get another bite and I jabbed him lightly with the fork. "Mine!" I yelled again and hunched over to continue eating, keeping my eyes on Ranger and Lester, ready to protect my pancakes. I couldn't see Tina anymore, I assume she'd slid onto the floor when her legs couldn't hold her anymore, but she was still laughing. She loved this game that Lester and I played over her orgasmic pancakes.

I finally finished inhaling my pancakes and stood up straight with a happy sigh. Lester was still on the floor where I tackled him, laughing hysterically, and Ranger was rubbing his hand where I'd stabbed him. I'd seen an arm reach up a few times but Tina hadn't made it to standing again just yet.

"Okay, boys, your turn now. Love you, Tina! Sure you don't want to marry me? It's legal in some states now, and we could have an open relationship."

"Urf," was the only answer I got from Tina.

I pointed my fork at Lester and Ranger and threatened them. "Just remember, she was mine first and she'll always love me best. You understand that and I'm willing to share."

Tina finally managed to pull herself back up and was standing at the sink. "I can make more!" she tried this tact every time. She should know better by now.

"First batch is always the best. First batch when you're cooking in my sniff zone is always mine. Jester should've known better. I didn't get too mean with Ranger 'cause he didn't know. But now he knows. Don't. Touch. The. Pancakes." I said in my best, most menacing voice with both eyebrows raised.

Ranger just shook his head and gave me the 200-watt smile. I was amusing him again. I pulled Lester to his feet and patted his ass in consolation. "You know better. I'll break something else if you try that again."

Lester was just laughing uncontrollably. He loved this game too. We all did. Hopefully Ranger would as well.

I smiled at Ranger. "You can fight him for the second batch. It's damn good too, almost as good as the first." Ranger looked assessingly at Lester and then at the pancakes sizzling on the griddle. Lester went into a fighting stance, ready to fight for his right to pancakes.

"I'm going to go put on pants now!" I called out, and I heard Tina giggle, Lester groan and Ranger chuckle.

When I returned a few minutes later, fully clothed this time, the living room looked a little more disheveled and Tina was on the floor laughing again. Both Lester and Ranger were eating pancakes with happy looks on their faces.

"So who won second batch?" I asked.

"Me," Ranger said smugly. I just smiled.

"Poor Lester," I crooned. "Got stuck with thirds, huh?"

He shot a glare at me. "I hate you," he murmured. "Watch your back."

"You know you love me!" I retorted and he rolled his eyes at me. I could afford to let it go and be magnanimous. I had won first batch, after all.

I shoved the coffee table away from the couch so I could sit down. I flopped onto the couch with a contented sigh. "Tina, you still alive over there?" I asked.

"Mpf," she gasped. I'm not sure what that meant, but at least she was still breathing.

"Loser has to clean up," I reminded Lester with a wink. He shot me his version of a death glare but I just giggled at him.

Ranger finished his pancakes and then picked up Tina from the floor where she was still laughing. Once he was sure that she was steady enough on her feet to stay standing this time, he came over and sat down beside me.

"Babe, what the hell was that?" he asked.

"That, my dear Batman, was survival of the hungriest. It's like Animal Planet meets the Food Network. Battle to the death over the world's best pancakes. Lester knows better than to challenge me when it comes to Tina's pancakes!" I replied dramatically.

He raised an eyebrow at me. "It's a game," I explained. "Her pancakes are amazing but the first batch always tastes a tiny bit better. So it became a game between Lester and me to fight over who got the first batch."

"Babe, she could just divide them out so that everyone got one from the first batch, one from the second and so on," Batman was trying to be logical.

"Silly Vulcan. Then the first batch would be cold and wouldn't be quite so awesome."

He just shook his head at me so I grinned at him. "She's made me pancakes a ton of times and they are just the most amazing pancakes in the history of breakfast. She's made them a couple of times since Lester's been here and we always fight over them. Each fight gets a little rougher. Can I have body armor as an early birthday present? And maybe an Uzi?" I batted my eyelashes at him.

Lester just mock glared at me. "I'm gonna have Tank ship me my surface-to-air missile launcher!"

I stuck my tongue out at him. "I have friends in high places, dude. I'll sic a SCUD at you if you try that! Or worse," my voice dropped into a low growl, "my grandma!" Lester shuddered at that and turned back to eating his pancakes.

Ranger was full out laughing at the bantering between us.

"That's the real reason I started kickboxing," I winked at Tina. "I knew eventually someone would try to come between me and my pancakes, and I needed to be ready to kick ass!"

Tina just giggled at me. Lester glared. Ranger laughed. I was happy.

I snuggled back into Ranger's chest and smiled.


	73. Chapter 73

_**Chapter 73**_

We spent the next week hanging out. Lester finally officially moved his stuff from my living room over to Tina's living room. Ranger then moved in to my living room. Well, theoretically into my living room. We were sleeping together but nothing more than kissing and cuddling and actual sleeping. While the Hungarian hormones were getting really frustrated with me, I wasn't willing to take the chance that things wouldn't work out between Ranger and me. I didn't think I could survive being sent away again.

He used my office in the duplex when I was working up at the inn and he needed to catch up on RangeMan business. He and Lester hung out quite a bit when Tina and I were unavailable. Sometimes the four of us hung out and sometimes it was just me and Ranger.

I'd learned more about him, slowly. It was hard for him but he seemed to really be trying. Sometimes his blank face would slam down and I'd just wait patiently until he got things under control. Well, sometimes patiently. Maybe once I was patient. I'm not generally a patient person, you know.

I never asked him about his government missions or anything that was classified. I'd told him that if anything was classified, he just had to tell me that and I'd move on. I didn't want to get him in trouble. And I didn't want to wake up in Kabul courtesy of Uncle Sam.

I showed him around the office and the changes and updates I'd made. He was suitably impressed and asked me if RangeMan should have a bigger web presence. I looked over their bare bones website and gave Ranger a long list of suggestions that might be more appealing to potential security clients. They didn't need to put up pictures of the staff, which Ranger insisted wasn't a good idea due to the nature of their security work and government contracts, but they could expand on their services and why RangeMan was the best.

Ranger spent a lot of time in the lobby of the inn with his laptop while I tried to soothe disgruntled guests. Most of the time, I was able to watch them walk away happy. He said I had a standing job offer at RangeMan in client services anytime I wanted it. If I could deal with angry vacationers with cranky toddlers, I could deal with anything.

I laughed and told him I'd think about it.

Finally, nine days after he'd arrived, he got the phone call that I knew would be coming eventually. Both he and Lester were needed back in Trenton to help with several high value FTAs and other security jobs. They made plans to leave the next day and both Tina and I were sad that our idyll was coming to an end.

Tina had a wedding rehearsal scheduled the next day, so I took both Lester and Ranger to the closest major airport. I was almost in tears when I dropped them off but I was hoping I'd see them again soon.

Ranger gave me a tight hug and a kiss hot enough to peel the paint from the walls. "Don't go crazy," he whispered.

"Try not to get shot," I replied. This reply dated from the Slayers incident.

Lester just picked me up and spun me around a couple of times until I couldn't walk a straight line. He told me that he'd talk to me soon and that one way or the other, he'd see both me and Tina soon. He'd fallen hard for my friend.

Tina and I tried to settle back into our normal routine but I really missed Ranger. The week of living together and actually getting to know the alter ego had been wonderful. I still wasn't sure about a real relationship with Ranger, but it was easier to imagine that it had been a year ago.

Ranger seemed very willing move the friendship to the next step, but I just wasn't ready to jump into bed with him. Wait, we'd been sharing the bed. But mostly platonically. Except the kissing and cuddling. Well, you know what I mean!

He'd hurt me a few too many times for me to be blasé about it all. I knew that he was trying, and I appreciated it, but I wasn't yet convinced that it wouldn't change if I did ever move back to Trenton.

I was missing Trenton and my family and friends. The visit a month ago had driven home how much I missed home. Don't get me wrong, I loved North Carolina and working at the inn, but it just wasn't the same anymore. Instead of being just peaceful, it felt a little boring at times.

I could see that Tina wasn't 100% happy either but I didn't want to rock the boat just yet. I had a lot of things to figure out before I could plan my return home.

During this time, I spent a lot of time on the phone and computer with Ranger. We spoke pretty much every single day in some format. If he had to be off the radar for a few days, he'd set up auto-emails for me to receive while he was gone. He went into the wind for a few days, but it apparently was a pretty quick mission since he was gone such a short period of time. He also had to go to Miami for a few days for Julie's birthday and to check in on RangeMan in Miami, but we were able to speak on the phone at least once each day.

I'd been calling my family and friends in Trenton pretty regularly too. Connie and Lula kept me up to date on the bond's shop gossip, Mary Lou, grandma and mom told me all the 'Burg gossip and Joe and Eddie kept me informed about the police station. I spoke to Lester a couple times a week at least and I'd chat with the other Merry Men sometimes too. So I pretty much had gotten back into the swing of things in Trenton.

That just made me miss Trenton even more. I'd never really made a lot of friends in North Carolina other than Tina and I didn't have that connection to the community outside of the people who worked at the inn. It had been fine while I was trying to deal with my life, but now it just felt lonely. And I missed shopping. And I really missed seeing Ranger and all of my other friends on a regular basis.

Finally, at the end of a month, Ranger and Lester were able to come back to visit for a long weekend. It was fantastic but the month of talking almost daily and getting to know Carlos instead of Ranger made it very hard not to jump his bones. The days flew by far too quickly, and we were taking them back to the airport in only a few days.

After this visit, Tina and I finally sat down to talk about what we wanted to do.

"I just miss Trenton," I told her. "Yeah, I miss Ranger, but I also miss his Merry Men, my friends, and even, God forbid, my family. You know?" I said.

"Yeah," Tina replied. "You've only been gone a year but I've been away from my friends and family for almost four years. It's been tough. But I needed that time to deal with my divorce and everything."

"Are you thinking about moving back?" I asked her hesitantly.

Tina didn't hesitate. "Yes."

I laughed at her quick response.

"And no, Ms. Nosy, it's not just because of Lester. But that's part of it. Coming here was just about escaping, just like you did. It was never a lifetime commitment. I think I'm ready to go back to Philly now, or at least someplace close. And if things keep going well with Lester, well, I'd only be about a half-hour away. And then we could still hang out and stuff."

I nodded. I understood the desire to not rush into a new relationship and get your heart ripped apart. I wanted to take it slow with Ranger too.

"You got a timeline on your plans?" I asked. I didn't want to leave her without an assistant manager again if I could help it, but I'd need to make some plans too.

She shook her head no. "Not really. A big hotel management company has approached the three of us who own the Dragonfly about buying it. I'd resisted it because it would mean too many changes if I was to stay on as the manager, but I think I'm ready to head back home too. I think you definitely are. So I'll discuss with my co-owners and see what they think. I think they'd probably like to sell since the others are all getting older and the economy isn't exactly fantastic right now, but I think they didn't want to do it since I was opposed. But we'll see what they think now."

After another glass of wine, we started discussing future employment. "Do you think you'll try to buy into another inn or hotel?" I asked Tina.

She nodded. "I really love this career, it's what I always wanted to do. My grandparents own a small bed and breakfast outside of Philly in a beautiful historic old house. That's what led me to hospitality and tourism management as a major and career path. They've been hinting for the last couple of years that they'd like me to start working more with their B&B, maybe buy it from them or take over as manager. So I might consider that. What about you?"

I shook my head no. "As much as I've enjoyed it, I just can't see myself doing this with someone other than you as my boss. I've loved a lot of it, but I think that was mostly due to you. I'm not sure what I'll do when I'm back."

I was sad to contemplate leaving the Dragonfly Inn and North Carolina, but I felt like I was ready. I'd changed enough as a person that I felt like I'd be able to keep my newfound strength and abilities even back in Trenton.

"What about bounty hunting? Or working with Ranger?" Tina suggested.

I'd had enough of rolling in garbage to pick up a FTA for a couple of hundred dollars. I'd mostly lived paycheck to paycheck, regularly subsidizing those paychecks with work at RangeMan so I wouldn't be homeless. I didn't think I'd go back working for Vinnie. At least my mother and Joe would be happy.

I wasn't quite sure about working with Ranger either. Things were going really well between us but I didn't want a work relationship to screw up the tentative relationship we had between us.

Tina and I were in a holding pattern for a couple of weeks while she discussed options with the co-owners of the inn. In the meantime, we'd both agreed not to say anything to the guys since we weren't sure yet. So we just kept up by phone and computer.

My hormones had pretty much given up on me at this point. Like the Rolling Stones, they couldn't get no satisfaction.


	74. Chapter 74

_**Chapter 74**_

Finally, Tina rushed into my little office at the inn one day practically vibrating with excitement. She was doing her version of the happy dance and she was clearly ready to tell me something big. I got off the phone with a vendor as quickly as I could and then Tina started jumping up and down.

"They made a great offer and everyone's agreed to sell! We just have to work out all the details, and there are a lot, but we have an agreement in principle!" She was so excited, it was cute. If that's what I looked like when I was excited about something, no wonder the guys all said it was cute. It was cute.

I just beamed at her and laughed a little when she started doing her happy dance again. But I was really happy for the both of us. We both wanted to move back home and the sooner, the better.

After we had a celebratory dinner, we both went to call our respective men.

"Yo," Ranger answered the phone.

"Yo yourself."

"Hi, Babe. How was your day?"

"Really good, great even!"

"What's up?" I had piqued his curiosity now.

"The inn has been sold to some hotel investors, so Tina and I will be moving back home in a couple of months!" I was so excited that I was bouncing gleefully.

"That's great, Babe!" I could hear his smile.

"We don't have exact dates yet, but I figured I'd come up in a couple of weeks to start looking at apartments. Maybe ones that ten year olds can't break into in under ten seconds. Know any badass security experts who could help me with that?" I teased.

"You can stay here," he offered.

Nope, no way, not gonna happen. I wasn't ready to move in with Ranger or even into the building. I was going to try to keep it light and fluffy. "I know Les is my adoptive little brother and all, but the man is too messy even for me."

"Babe."

"Ranger." We were still working on the more than one word comments.

A sigh. "You can stay with me on seven."

"I don't think either of us, or us, is ready for that just yet. Things are going too well to screw it up by rushing it right now," I replied.

A long silence.

"Fine. I'll have one of the guys compile a list of the apartment buildings that we provide security for in the area. We can start with those," he finally answered.

"That would be great! I can start looking online and making calls about vacancies," I replied.

We chatted a bit more before he needed to head to a new client meeting. The disgust in his voice was evident, he really didn't like doing all of the client handholding. Just as we were about to hang up, he reminded me of a job offer. "You can always come work at RangeMan and deal with all the people bullshit." Then he was gone.

We're also still working on phone skills.

A few days later, the current owners of the inn, including Tina, reached a deal with the new hotel management company. The sale would be completed soon, but Tina and I would stay on for another month after that to help transition their new staff. So it would be about two more months before Tina, Rex and I would be homeless. Time to get a move on!

I called Ranger late that evening to let him know. We usually spoke to each other late at night so that his voice was the last one I heard before falling asleep. I'd already warned him that there would be no escape if he called me at 5 am when he woke up and there wasn't someone in the hospital. He just laughed when I said that. I'm still not even remotely a morning person.

I made plans to fly back home in two weeks. I had a list of prospective apartments that I wanted to check out. They were all far nicer than my previous apartment with all of the senior citizens, but I had a lot of money in the bank right now. Like seriously a lot. Living so far away from serious shopping and not needing slutty distraction clothes meant that I'd not spent very much of my salary since rent and everything was included.

Plus I'd received a gigantic check from RangeMan for helping to take down Jackson Mitchell, the Jackass. Like $50,000 gigantic. I'd been incredibly suspicious at first that it was just Ranger trying to give me money, but I was finally convinced that it was just how it worked. Mitchell had been worth $750,000 to Uncle Sam and that money went to RangeMan once we captured him. Since I was the primary apprehension agent, since I'd lured him out, I got the biggest cut of the bounty on him, plus extra for being injured in the line of duty.

I'd finally given in and called a couple of the Merry Men to verify it. I just told them that I was contemplating returning to work at RangeMan and I wanted to be sure I understood how the financial side of things worked. They all explained it the same way. Half of the bounty goes to RangeMan to cover costs like insurance and salaries and the rest is divided among those who apprehend the fugitive in question. Sometimes it's a team effort and it's split equally, but sometimes one or two people take the lead and then they earn the lion's share of the bounty. Getting hurt while on the job usually leads to something like worker's comp being added as long as the injury wasn't a result of being stupid or careless.

So I currently had over $70,000 in the bank and I thought I'd earned a nice, safe apartment, the ability to decorate it in more than broke college student style and maybe a car that didn't need a quart of oil per week. Plus living in a nice, pretty duplex for over a year had spoiled me. I didn't want to go back to bare walls and hideously ugly bathrooms. And I could never live without my walk-in closet now!

So I'd narrowed the list down to only apartments that fit my criteria and that Ranger could consider safe enough. I didn't plan to go back to bounty hunting for Vinnie, but I held no illusions that some of the crazies weren't still out there waiting for me. And I wanted to be as safe as possible without moving into Fort Knox or the RangeMan building on Haywood.


	75. Chapter 75

_**Chapter 75**_

Finally, the two weeks passed and I arrived back home. Ranger had planned to meet me, but I saw Lester waiting for me at the baggage claim area instead. I was happy to see him, but I'd have been happier to see Ranger.

"Beautiful," he shouted as he ran towards me. He picked me up and spun me around in a circle before I managed to pry myself out of his grasp.

"Les," I giggled, hugging him back.

I looked around, obviously searching for Ranger. "Sorry, Beautiful, he had something come up at the last minute so he asked me to get you instead. He's waiting for you at RangeMan, so let's go!"

On the drive to RangeMan, Lester was peppering me with questions about Tina. They had kept in touch, frequent touch, and it was pretty obvious that they were both as eager for the big move as Ranger and I were. Or almost as eager.

Tina's grandparent's inn was just across the river from Philadelphia but in New Jersey. So she'd be less than a half-hour away from Trenton, which is plenty close enough to make the long-distance relationship far less long-distance.

Lester used his key fob to let us in the RangeMan garage and escorted me to the elevator. He pressed the button for seven and I raised my eyebrows. I figured we'd stop first on five so I could say hello to all the Merry Men.

Lester caught my look and replied. "Bossman wants to see you first, then you can hang out with us." Have I mentioned that I hate that everyone can read my mind?

We made it to seven without stopping on any other floors. I gave Lester a final wave and then pushed open the ajar door to Ranger's apartment.

"Hello? Ranger?" I called out when the room seemed empty.

"In here, Babe," I heard him reply so I followed his voice into his bedroom. He was packing a bag. Shit.

"Let me guess, you gotta go, right?" I asked with dread in my stomach.

"Yeah, Babe, I'm so sorry. I just got the call a little while ago, you were already in the air by then. I have to go soon," I could tell that Ranger did feel badly. I was beyond disappointed but I knew that this was one part of his life that neither of us could really control. They called, he had to go. Most of the time.

"How long?" I asked. I'd be in town for a week and I was really, really hoping that this would be a one or two day trip into the wind for him.

"Not sure exactly but probably a couple of weeks. I'm sorry, Babe."

"I know you are. But this is part of your life so I'll just have to deal. The timing just sucks butt monkeys," I sighed.

His lips twitched. "Butt monkeys?"

"Yep."

"Good to know." He pulled me close into his arms and gave me a kiss hot enough to melt asphalt. When he finally released me, I checked to make sure I wasn't smoking anywhere.

"Babe," he smiled.

"Just checking, Batman."

"I figured having Santos pick you up would give us more actual time together. I'm almost done with everything now, except a little bit of packing. Do you want to eat in for lunch or go out?" he asked.

I pondered for a minute. If he was leaving soon, which seemed likely, I'd rather have him to myself. "In, please, if Ella doesn't mind."

"Babe," he said. I know Ella wouldn't mind, she loves Ranger and she seems to like me a lot. I'd really like for her to adopt me. It would mean I had another source of dessert available to me in Trenton for times when my mom was mad at me.

I detached myself from Ranger long enough for him to call Ella and request lunch. Yippee, Ella's cooking again!

He pulled down next to him on the couch and kept me tightly against him while we chatted. Finally, I asked the question I was dreading. "So when do you have to go?"

He grimaced and replied. "Pick up at four."

I looked at my watch in disbelief. "Ranger, it's already almost one!"

"I know, Babe. They wanted me ready to go by now but I was able to push them back a couple of hours. It was the best I could do."

I sighed, closed my eyes and gave myself a little pep talk. You knew that this was his life when you agreed to consider a relationship with him, you knew this would happen eventually. It's not his fault, don't take it out on him.

I finally opened my eyes to look at a concerned Ranger. He was watching me like I was an unpredictable adversary and he didn't know whether to hug me or shoot me proactively.

I smiled at him suggestively. "Guess I'll have to take advantage of the time I have then," and crawled into his lap leaving light kisses all over his face.

I felt the tension relax from his shoulders as he started to chuckle. "You never disappoint, Babe," he said before returning my kisses. Then he didn't have his lips or tongue available to make any other smart-ass comments.

We were interrupted a little while later by a knock on the door. It was Ella bringing up lunch. I chatted with Ella while she got everything laid out and Ranger went to finish packing his clothing. Ella shot me a big grin when she pulled out two large slices of chocolate cake. Ranger might not do dessert, but I sure as hell did and I was going to truly enjoy eating both pieces of cake.

"Oh, Ella," I sighed happily. "I've missed you!"

Ella just chuckled and finished setting out everything. Lunch was grilled chicken with seasoned steamed veggies and brown rice. Eighteen months ago, I would have been horrified. But now I knew that Ranger would probably need the protein and nutrients during his upcoming mission.

Ranger came back out, smiled at Ella and then wrapped his arms around my waist. Ella smiled and excused herself, shutting the door softly behind her

"Okay, Batman, let's get you fed before your big scary mission," I cooed, pulling him to the table. He just laughed and shook his head at me.

We talked during lunch and he got a very pained expression when I ate the first piece of cake. He refused to let me eat the second piece until after he'd left.

"You make any more noises like that and I'll be AWOL!" he exclaimed as he grabbed the plate away from me. I just giggled at him.

We sat back down on the couch with me on his lap. We cuddled and talked about my apartment search and job search. Ranger still wanted me to come and work at RangeMan dealing with the people and paperwork side of things. I could stay mostly in the office working on computer searches, client relations and the unending paperwork, or I could also add some fieldwork in if I wanted. I'd probably go slightly nuts if I never got out of the office, but at least working for RangeMan gave me the option of getting out sometimes. I promised him that I'd think about it and seriously consider it.

"Babe, I'd like for you to stay here while I'm gone. You'll be safe and comfortable here, and you'll be able to catch up more easily with the guys and Ella. They've all missed you." Ooh, sneaky bastard, trying to tempt me with hanging out with the Merry Men and Ella's cooking.

I thought about it a minute. I could stay in a hotel or with my parents, but I remembered how crazy the house was first thing in the morning with only one bathroom. Sold.

"Sounds good, thank you for the offer," I replied and I got the 200-watt smile in return and a look of relief. I guess he expected me to fight him but it seemed like a good idea since he would be gone. I didn't think I'd be able to keep my hands off of him if he were in the apartment, but it would be fine since he was gone. It would also help me to feel closer to him.

"Can I get some of the guys to go apartment shopping with me since you'll be gone? Maybe Les and anyone else who volunteers?" I asked.

"Of course, Babe, whatever you need. You can also use any of the cars, you know where the keys are at," he replied instantly. "And I was hoping that you'd agree, so I left your key fob by the front door."

"Hoping, huh?" I asked playfully.

"Hoping a lot, Babe." He was kissing the side of my neck now and I was hoping a lot too. Mostly that he'd come back safely soon so we could continue our make out session without a time limit.

Ranger's watch beeped and he pulled away with a growl. Almost time to go. I gave him a soft kiss and pushed him towards the bedroom so he could get his gear. While he was getting his stuff and taking advantage of a bathroom break before leaving, I put together a little care package for him. It was all stuff from his kitchen, but I hoped he'd appreciate the gesture.

I found a paper bag and put in a couple of granola bars, two apples and a bottle of water. I didn't know where he'd be going after four o'clock but I figured he'd need to eat eventually.

He came back out with his gear and I walked over to him. I figured the big bag was full of enough weapons to start a war since I'd seen him putting clothes into the smaller bag. He saw the bag in my hand and shot me a questioning look.

"Snacks," I replied, opening it so he could see inside. He tucked it into his smaller bag and then smiled and pulled me to him for a hard kiss.

I was already fighting back tears so I just blinked them back as much as possible. He took a deep breath and stepped back. "Te amo, Babe. I'll check in when and if I can but it shouldn't be more than a couple of weeks, I hope. Try not to go crazy."

I smiled through my tears. "Don't get shot. And come back soon and safe."

He nodded with a small smile and then stepped out into the hallway. I watched him press the button for the elevator and I dashed into the hall and wrapped my arms around him and kissed him. I put all of my emotions into that kiss and felt him drop the smaller bag and pull me tightly to him. The elevator opened and he sucked in a deep breath before giving me one last gentle kiss and stepping back to pick up his bag.

"I love you, too," I whispered. "Please be safe."

He just nodded and got onto the elevator. "I will, Babe."

I smiled until the elevator doors closed and then I walked back into his apartment and collapsed onto his bed crying.


	76. Chapter 76

_**Chapter 76**_

I cried for a little while before pulling myself back together. I washed my face in Ranger's bathroom and tried to repair the damage to my face with the makeup I had in my purse. You could tell that I'd been crying if you looked closely but I looked relatively normal after slathering on lots of concealer. And then I ate the other slice of chocolate cake.

I grabbed my purse and tucked the key fob that Ranger had left for me into my pocket. I took the stairs down to five to see the Merry Men.

I popped out the door but no one was there. Well, that sucks, no one wanted to see me. So I wandered out onto the floor to see what was going on. "Bombshell!" I heard yelled just before I was plucked off the floor and pulled into a big hug. Guess Junior was happy to see me if nothing else. I hugged him back and was laughing when I heard the pounding of gigantic boots behind me.

I was pulled away from Junior and passed around to other Merry Men. I hugged them all at least once, most twice or more, and then I was finally allowed to touch the floor again. I'm pretty sure that my feet didn't touch the ground from the time Junior first picked me up until after they had all gotten their hugs.

That was more like it! I'd missed these guys dreadfully, and I really hadn't seen any of them except for Lester during my last trip. I would rectify that now.

"So who wants dinner at Shorty's?" I asked.

This was met with a cacophony of sounds. "Yes!", "I'm in," "Works for me," "Shit, I have to work," and "Damn, I'm on monitors tonight. No fair!"

I laughed. "Those who can and want to go, great. If you can't, I promise that we'll all hang out sometime before I go back! I'll be staying on seven this trip so we can plan time to get together."

"Oh, and I need volunteers to help me find an apartment this week, hopefully a little safer than my old one. Anyone interested?" A number of guys nodded at me and I just smiled. I loved these guys!

"Spread the word about Shorty's and I'll see you there in about a half-hour?" I asked. There were lots of nods and few scowls so I wandered off to chat with the guys who couldn't make it to say hello and soothe ruffled feathers. You definitely don't want to be on the bad side of these guys!

As we were leaving, Manny walked in. "Hubby!" I yelled, running up to him and throwing my arms around him.

"Wifey!" he replied, lifting me up off the ground in a big bear hug.

We both burst out laughing. When Manny had been shot by Scrog, I'd pretended to be his wife at the hospital so I could get info on his condition for Ranger and the other Merry Men. Since then, we tease each other about being married.

"Hubby, we're heading to Shorty's for pizza. Wanna go?" I asked Manny.

"Sorry, princess, on duty tonight. Raincheck?" he replied.

"Absolutely, just let me know when, you get priority since we're married and all!"

He grinned at me and kissed me on the cheek and then I took the elevator down to meet Lester in the garage.

I had a fantastic time with the guys. We ate pizza, drank beer and even danced a little. Since I was the only RangeWoman, as Ram started calling me, I danced with all of the guys, even the ones that I didn't know well.

There were to new guys who joined the party. Tony was a beefy brunette with hazel eyes and Mick was a dirty blonde with pale peridot green eyes. Something about the way he looked at me, like he was smirking, set off my Spidey senses so I asked Bobby about him while we were dancing.

Did I mention that Bobby has some sweet moves? The man can dance, swaying and dipping and all that jazz. Hot damn!

"Bobby, what's with the new guy? Mick, I think he said," I asked.

"Been here a month or so, seems okay so far. Ex-Air Force. Does a lot with the technical end of things, mostly still on monitor duty so far. Why?" Bobby replied.

"I don't like the way he looks at me for some reason," was all I could reply.

"Well, damn, Bomber, but you know you're beautiful! He probably just thinks you're hot!" Bobby could be very sweet, too, so I stretched up on my tiptoes and kissed his cheek.

"Thanks, Bobby. I'm probably just still a little oversensitive with Ranger leaving," I said, trying to explain away my discomfort with Mick. If Ranger hired him, he had to be a decent guy, right?

"He'll be fine, Bomber. He's the best, that's why they call him," Bobby tried to reassure me.

"I know, but I do wish he was here!"

"Steph, if Ranger was still here, you wouldn't be here with us. You'd be out with him!" Bobby waggled his eyebrows suggestively at me. I punched him lightly in the arm, blushing furiously. He just laughed at me, enjoying seeing me tongue-tied.

We finished our dance and then Lester dragged me out on the dance floor after I promised not to punch him. We were really comfortable with each other after all the time together in North Carolina so we were really being silly. We were dirty dancing together but laughing hilariously while trying to look sexy. I think we failed.

Between the long day and emotional storm of Ranger leaving, I was pretty exhausted. So it didn't take more than two beers for me to start to get a little tipsy. Lester and Bobby dragged me out of Shorty's and took me back to Ranger's apartment on the seventh floor. Once they made sure I was coherent enough to head towards the bathroom, they sat on the couch for a while watching TV while I took a shower and cleaned up a little bit. Bobby made me drink a bottle of water and take a couple of ibuprofen before they sent me off to bed. I heard the door close and then I cried myself to sleep, missing Ranger.

The next morning, Ella showed up with The Cure, a large Coke and a large fry from McDonalds. She left it on the counter with a bag from Tasty Pastry and it took me a little while to drag myself over to it.

Once I was able to grab my godsent gifts, I collapsed on Ranger's couch and munched contentedly on the fries until I felt my stomach settle and my head started to clear. I flipped the TV to CNN, which I watch frequently when Ranger's in the wind just in case there were any international coup d'états that would show where he'd been. You never know.

I looked at the time and realized that I was supposed to meet Lester, Vince and Ram to start apartment shopping in less than an hour. With a shriek, I threw myself into the bathroom to try to tame my riotous hair and to get enough makeup on me so that I'd look semi-normal despite my lingering headache/ hangover.

I threw on clothes, grabbed my purse and the file with the potential apartments listed and rushed to the control room only three minutes late. That's practically early for me. Lester chuckled at me rushing into the room at a dead run, panting from my sprint down the stairs.

"Beautiful, we would have waited for you!"

"I know," pant, pant, "but I didn't want," pant, pant, "to keep you," pant, "waiting!"

We all got on the elevator, since clearly I wasn't quite ready to sprint down more stairs, and piled into one of the RangeMan SUVs. We drove around a bit first, scoping out the various apartment buildings and their location. I immediately eliminated one as a viable candidate because it was in a part of town that looked menacing and scary.

I poked Vince in his massive bicep. "Has this always been a sketchy part of town and I just didn't notice, or has it changed in the last year?" I asked.

Vince looked over at me and grabbed my finger to keep me from poking him again. "Stop poking me, Bombshell. Some parts of town have been pulled into some of the gang wars and have gone south pretty damn quick. We started providing security on this building a couple of months when once the neighborhood started to get trashed. I'd take it off your list if I were you."

"Yep, it's off. I've had enough contact with Slayers to last a lifetime, thank you very much," I replied. I'd been targeted by the Slayers gang after I'd identified one of their members as an arsonist. That was when I first stayed in Ranger's apartment in an attempt to not be murdered or gang raped by the psychos in the gang.

"Moving on, my very Merry Men. What other info do you have on these other apartments?" I split the stack of printouts between Vince and Ram since Lester was driving.

Ram handed me back one of the printouts. "This building is predominantly old people. I helped upgrade the camera system six months ago, and I was the youngest person I saw by at least a couple of decades."

Okay, so that was still on the list. My old apartment building in Trenton had been mostly senior citizens and it hadn't been too bad. Sure, some of them were a little batty, but it never bothered me.

Vince and Ram also had a couple of comments about other buildings, but no other ones were completely unsuitable. I made notes about the locations of the various buildings and the amenities I could see from outside. One apartment complex had a large, beautiful pool that made me dream of balmy July evenings with Ranger in a speedo. Or maybe a pool party with all of the Merry Men in teeny, tiny black speedos. Mmmm, gotta stop drooling now.

I called from the SUV to see about setting up a time to see an open apartment in the complex with a pool. They could show us around anytime today. So we decided to grab lunch at Pino's before heading over to check it out.

I walked into Pino's with my three Merry Men by my side. Of course, just my luck, but Joe was there with Eddie, Carl and Big Dog. The guys walked to their normal table in the back and I walked over to say hello.

"Hey Cupcake," Joe said as he stood up to kiss my cheek. "You back now?" We'd kept in touch some by phone and email but I hadn't yet told him my plans to move back permanently.

"Nope, just apartment searching today. I'll be moving back for good in about six weeks."

"We'll have to see who has the dates in the pool on when you'd be back," Carl chuckled. Joe grimaced slightly and I shot Carl a glare. I wasn't even back yet and they were already betting on me! Argh!

"I expect the money from that pool to go to a charity or something. No more betting on my life! And I mean it." I threatened.

Joe pulled me off to the side. "If you need a place to stay for a while, you can stay with me. I do have a guest room," he offered. I smiled and patted his cheek.

"I appreciate the offer but that would just set the 'Burg grapevine on fire. Plus I need my own place. But thanks," I responded.

Joe leaned back and looked at me with an assessing look in his brown eyes. "Not moving in with Manoso?"

I rolled my eyes at him. "Nope. We're friends and trying to decide if there's more there than just friendship. But we're taking it very slowly. So I need my own place. The guys are helping me look at options so I'll have a place to move to once I come back."

"You need a place to stay while you're looking?" Joe asked.

"Ranger's in the wind so I'm staying in his apartment at RangeMan. Makes it convenient to catch up with all the guys and Ella's a fantastic cook," I replied.

"Ella?" Joe asked in confusion.

"Yeah, she's the housekeeper and cook at RangeMan. She's also the one who embroidered RangeMan on all my clothes, remember?" I reminded Joe.

"Oh yeah, when you had Manoso's name on your panties!"

I rolled my eyes at him again and nodded.

"So I guess he did want more than just friendship with you, huh?" Joe gloated slightly.

I blushed a little and nodded. "He came to North Carolina a couple of months ago to see me so we could talk about things. He's been to the inn a couple of times now and we were talking most days on the phone until he got the call to get out of Dodge. So we'll see where things go." I turned a critical eye on Joe. "And what's on the relationship front for you?"

It was Joe's turn to blush, his ears turning red. "Ohh! Tell me all about her!" I demanded.

Joe shot a look back at the other cops, who were watching us with interest. "I'll have to tell you later," was all he would say despite my cajoling. I finally gave up and told him to call me sometime and we'd try to hang out before I left again.

I walked over to the table in the back to find a meatball sub waiting for me. Lester looked at me and winked and I just threw my arms around him in a big hug. "Thank God I don't have to wrestle you for food this time!"

Ram choked on his water at that and both he and Vince shot us a surprised look. I sat down and grinned at Lester. "Haven't you told them about all the times I kicked your ass for Tina's pancakes?"

Lester started laughing so hard he couldn't talk, so I had to explain the rules of the pancake wars to them. By the end, they were all chuckling about the three-person war between me, Lester and Ranger.

"You gotta use the weapons you have available!" was my retort when Lester protested that the only reason I beat him was because I was only wearing a t-shirt and distracted him. Both Vince and Ram groaned and I smiled in triumph.

"She even stabbed Ranger with her fork when he tried to steal another bite!" Ram and Vince looked at me in shock. I think they were surprised that I was still alive. Or that Ranger would even consider eating pancakes. Could be either one.

"Don't try to get between a woman and her orgasmic pancakes," was all I would tell them. "Or you will get your ass body slammed."

We were all chuckling and enjoying our meal thoroughly after that. I must have moaned a little over the sub because when I looked up, both Ram and Vince were shooting me pained looks and Lester had a big shit-eating grin on his face. Guess he's used to it by now.

"What?" I asked, playing innocent.

Ram and Vince just shook their heads at me and resumed eating. I caught Lester's eye and he gave me an outrageous wink, which made me giggle a bit.

_**Author's note**__: Please review! It's the only feedback that I get from writing fanfiction. Pretty please?_


	77. Chapter 77

_**Chapter 77**_

We finished eating and then went over to the apartment complex. It was a large horseshoe shaped building, six stories tall and very wide. In the middle of the horseshoe was a large pool and open green space. The building was surrounded by a parking lot with what looked to be ample parking for residents and visitors. Maybe I'd have good parking karma here!

The guys made me walk the perimeter of the complex with them first. They pointed out the exit only fire doors at the sides of the building, the cameras monitoring all entrances and exits and the security system to enter the building. Residents had a special passkey that allowed them entry but they also had to enter a special code on the keypad. Ram explained that it was a safety feature in case the passkey was ever lost.

Visitors could press a big red button labeled assistance or they could use the intercom system to call their friends. Each apartment had an intercom system that could remotely open the front door for 10 seconds.

Ram pushed the red button and we heard a familiar voice in about 5 seconds. "How can I help you?"

"Manny?" I asked.

"Stephanie?" he replied.

"Yeah, we're here checking out potential apartments for me. Ram pushed the button, I didn't know it would go to the control room," I explained.

"Yeah, any time the button is pushed at the front door or the panic button in any apartment, one of us is here to answer. You need me to buzz you in?"

"Yes, please!"

"Sure thing, it's open now. Have fun." And then he was gone. I really needed to schedule a phone manners seminar for RangeMan.

I turned and looked at Ram with raised eyebrows. He just smiled. "Wanted you to get the full effect."

We met with the apartment manager, Elaine, next. "We don't have any empty units at the moment, but I have three that will be coming available within the next two months. I have two one-bedroom apartments and a two-bedroom apartment. All of the current tenants agreed to let me bring prospective tenants in, so I can show you any of all of them if you'd like," she said.

I nodded eagerly. I'd like it a lot!

The last apartment we saw was on the top floor, the sixth floor, and it was a two-bedroom apartment. I loved it as soon as I stepped in it. It was the last apartment at the end of one of the legs of the horseshoe and it stretched the entire length of the building, so it had lots of windows and natural light. The living room had a pair of sliding glass patio doors that opened onto a small balcony that overlooked the pool. It was large enough for a small patio table and chairs and several potted plants, which the current renters had tastefully arranged on the patio.

The living room, dining room and kitchen formed one large great room. It had hardwood floors and the walls were all painted the same cream as in the lobby. The current renters had a large entertainment center with a gigantic flat screen TV. There was a large sectional sofa facing the entertainment center and it looked very cosy and comfy. There was still plenty of room to move around despite the large pieces of furniture.

Both bedrooms were large and airy with thick and fluffy tan carpets. One bedroom looked to be a guest room/ office since there was a double bed against one wall and a desk and several bookcases pushed up against the opposite wall. The other bedroom had a king sized bed in it, a dresser and a bench at the foot of the bed.

The bathroom was located between the two bedrooms. I walked in and almost swooned. The floor was white tile and the tile continued up the walls midway. Above the tile, the walls were painted a light blue. It had a glass enclosed walk-in shower with a white tile surround and it also had a garden tub in the corner under a large window. The double vanity was long and had a ton of drawers and cabinets for storage.

I was practically drooling at this point. Elaine walked us to the elevator and we went back down to the first floor. She took around and showed us the access to the pool and green space. It was very lovely and relaxing. We went back in and she showed us a small gym equipped with basic machines like treadmills, ellipticals and several weight machines.

All in all, it was a fantastic complex and the bedroom on the sixth floor was amazing. The rent was higher than I'd wanted because it was a two-bedroom end unit, but it might be worth it given the security features. Lester wouldn't let me decide without at least looking at some of the other options first, so I took a copy of the floor plan with measurements and a copy of the amenities brochure. Elaine promised to call if anyone else was interested in the apartment within the next couple of days.

Over the next couple of days, I went to several different apartment complexes with various Merry Men. None of the apartments were as nice or as secure as the first one I looked at. Several were somewhat cheaper, but not so much cheaper that I still didn't want the beautiful apartment with the pool. In the end, I decided on the first apartment building and Manny took me over to sign the lease.

We went out to lunch after that and my faux husband approved of my choice. He said that the Shady Pines complex had one of the more secure systems and he was glad that his wifey would be safe. We laughed and ate pizza and we were still giggling when we came back up the elevator to the fifth floor.

I was leaving the next day, and I was saying my goodbyes to the Merry Men tonight since I had an early flight the next morning. Bobby had volunteered to drive me to the airport. I had gone into the breakroom to grab a bottle of water when one of the new guys, Mick, walked in.

I heard him murmur something it being his turn as I walked by him, but I just ignored him, assuming that he was talking about his break time, and went back out to finish a few conversations with the guys before I headed up to finish packing.

We hadn't heard anything from Ranger yet, but I wasn't too concerned. He said it would be a couple of weeks so I wouldn't worry just yet. Tank swore that he'd call me the minute he heard anything from or about Ranger.

It was so hard to leave RangeMan the next day. I loved Ranger's million thread count sheets and his Bulgari shower gel was fantastic. But I knew I'd be back in five weeks, and Ranger should be back by then. I was missing him dreadfully. I left him a letter telling him how much I missed him and that I was looking forward to seeing him again. I left it in a sealed envelope on his pillow and I knew Ella would leave it for him.

Finally, Bobby dropped me off at the airport and I headed back to North Carolina to pack my belongings and help with the transition to the new managers.

Tina and I spent the next few weeks in a whirlwind of activities. Since Tina was working so closely with the incoming management, I had the responsibility for most of the running of the inn. It was hard work and took lots of hours, but we finally got things organized and the new managers up to date.

My biggest worry was that Ranger was still in the wind. It had been six weeks now and he'd said it would probably only be a month at most. Tank had heard from one of his connections who knew someone who'd heard someone say something about Ranger, so it seemed he was fine.

Tank, Lester and Bobby had to reassure me multiple times that sometimes things just took longer than expected but not to worry. At this point, I was way past worry and was approaching flat-out panic at the thought of Ranger being incommunicado for so long.

The CR-V was drinking more oil than most alcoholics drink booze on a Saturday night, so I didn't plan to take it back to Trenton with me. I sold it super cheap to one of the college kids who worked at the inn pretty really cheap, but I got a little money out of it and the student got a semi-reliable car as long as they kept feeding it oil.

So Tina and I rented a moving truck that could pull her Subaru behind it. We loaded my stuff towards the back and her stuff closer to the front. We'd stop first at her grandparent's B&B outside of Philadelphia and then I'd drive the moving truck the rest of the way to Trenton to unload my stuff. Then I'd return the truck and we'd be good to go.

Because the moving truck was a giant gas hog with crappy suspension, it took us several days to make the drive from North Carolina to Philly. We took turns driving but we were both sore by the time we got to her grandparent's inn. Once all of her stuff was unloaded, only my boxes remained.

I spent the night at the B&B with Tina, and then the two of us went furniture shopping the next day. My new apartment was unfurnished except for appliances, and I didn't own any furniture anymore. So I needed a dining room set, living room furniture, two sets of bedroom furniture and a home office set. I'd already spent a lot of time looking at furniture online and I had narrowed down my options substantially already. We were able to get some pretty good deals since I was buying so much stuff, and we just had the furniture stores load my new furniture into the moving truck.

Once that was done, I dropped Tina back off at the B&B, told her goodbye, cried a little and then headed on to Trenton. I had a contingent of Merry Men waiting to help me unload my stuff and I was planning to take advantage of their muscles as much as possible!

I'd called ahead when I was leaving Philly, and there were a ton of black cars in the parking lot of my new apartment building when I got there. The front two spaces were taken by black SUVs when I arrived, but they pulled out as soon as I was in the lot. The driver's side door opened, and Hal helped me out before wordlessly climbing back in.

I was standing there rubbing my sore ass in confusion when Lester slung his arm around me. "Need me to rub it for you, Beautiful?"

I stuck my tongue out at him but raised my eyebrows in question.

"Hal used to drive tanks for a living. If anyone can back that big ass truck in right, he can," he explained. Ah, gotcha. Yeah, I hadn't been looking forward to trying to maneuver the behemoth into the parking spots.

A bunch of the guys were standing there, ready to serve as my personal moving crew. I grabbed my purse and overnight bag from the cab of the truck and then headed into the lobby to hold the doors for the guys. Lester called the control room and told them to temporarily disable the door ajar alarm until he called back. We didn't want the alarms going off after the door was open for 60 seconds since it would take considerably longer to get all my stuff up to the sixth floor. Sometimes it's really nice to know people!

Elaine had already given my new keys and passkey to Lester since I was arriving late in the day, so he went up with me and let me into my new apartment. It looked huge empty, and I could only hope that it would look good with my new furniture. I called in a huge order for pizza and wings to Pino's and asked Binkie to go pick it up and stop by and buy a bunch of beer and sodas. He'd been injured in a take down a week earlier, and had gotten sliced on the side by a drugged up skip. He'd only needed stitches but he wasn't cleared for heavy lifting or field duty yet. I handed over my credit card and he headed out.

I directed traffic as the various Merry Men brought in items. I'd had the furniture store pack my new furniture so that all the bedroom stuff was in the front, the new table and chairs in the middle and the living room furniture was closer to the back. That way we didn't have to keep maneuvering around the sectional sofa that I'd bought with mattresses and such.

In what seemed like no time at all, all my furniture was in the apartment. All my boxes of stuff were labeled with the room and description, so I just asked the guys to stack then in an empty corner of the appropriate room. I'd unpack and sort through things later.

Binkie was hailed as the king of the world when he walked in with a ton of pizza boxes and bags of chicken wings. Once he mentioned that the beer was in his truck, Junior snagged his keys and raced out with Zero on his heels to retrieve it.

We sat around and ate pizza while some of the guys helped me to put together my new furniture. Most was already assembled but a few pieces needed to be put together. And I am certainly not good at following directions about putting screw A in slot R. Ugh.

By the end of the night, I was slightly buzzed, about to explode from too much pizza and surrounded by my friends in my new apartment. The only thing that could make the day better would be if Ranger were there too.

At some point, I remember Lester and Bobby carrying me into my new bedroom. Some kind hearted, wonderful person had made the bed for me. Lester put me on the bed and pulled off my shoes and jeans before tucking me in. I remember trying to thank them before the door to my bedroom closed.

_**Author's note: **__Thanks to those of you who reviewed or messaged me last week! It was a long and frequently frustrating week, and those reviews/ messages were sometimes the highlight of my day! So please keep sending them._


	78. Chapter 78

_**Author's note: **__I'm sorry for the delay. I've been traveling a lot for work recently, and, of course, the cute little kid in the seat behind me coughed all over me and gave me his mutant cold/flu. So I've been in a decongestant haze the last few days. I'm leaving again tomorrow to take 15 freshmen to New York City so I probably will be too busy trying to keep them from going too crazy to post. But I'll be back next week and hopefully I'll get back to my normal weekly posting schedule._

_I also have several other stories going right now, and a couple are getting close to being ready to post. Any interest in reading other stories with Stephanie, Ranger and the Merry Men?_

_Hope everyone has a great week! ~ Angela_

_**Chapter 78**_

I woke up the next morning completely confused about where I was. It took me a breathless minute to realize that I was in my new, amazing apartment. I staggered out of my bedroom and into the bathroom. Someone had put my travel-sized toiletries onto the counter and in the shower, and I silently blessed that person with all of my heart. After a long shower to clear the fuzz out of my head, I finally emerged and dried off. My robe was hanging on the back of the door, so I wrapped up in it. I walked out of the bathroom and screamed.

Lester was sitting on my new couch watching me with a grin.

"What the hell, Les!" I exclaimed in fright. "I'm supposed to have a kick ass security system to keep people out of my apartment!"

"Beautiful, I'm part owner of your security company. I have my ways to get around the system," he chuckled.

I was shooting death glares at him when he held up a McDonalds bag. "Thought you might need The Cure," he said.

That changed my opinion of him. "Okay, I like you again now. Gimme!"

Lester laughed and thrust the bag into my hands. I shoved my hand into the bag and came out with a handful of deep fried happiness, also known as fries. I moaned a little and then Lester held up the supersized Coke to me. I flopped down on the couch next to him and enjoyed my breakfast.

Once I was done with my gustatory masterpiece, I looked over at Lester. "You just here to bring me food?" I asked.

He ruffled my curls and smiled at me. "Nope, Beautiful. I know you don't have wheels yet, so your wish is my command."

My eyes narrowed slightly at that. Hmm, lots of interesting things I could make him do. He quickly interjected, "within reason, of course."

Damn.

"Okay, I do need to return the moving truck and do some stuff. More shopping to do today, you cool with that?" I asked him.

He didn't look very excited so I decided to compromise. "I need to get a couple of TVs."

Lester gave me a look like he'd just won the Superbowl and the Publishers Clearinghouse Contest and a bus full of Victoria's Secret models had broken down in front of his house. Wow. I knew men liked gadgets and stuff, but that just seemed excessive.

He started blathering on about HDTV connections and LCD versus plasma and I just completely tuned him out. I went back into my bedroom to get dressed and Lester followed me in there, talking a mile a minute. Now Lester was one of the more talkative of the Merry Men, especially since our road trip a few months ago, but this was just insane. I'd have to keep this mind in case I ever needed to start a conversation with the other Merry Men at some point.

I found my overnight bag and pulled some clothes out. I shoved Lester out of my bedroom and closed the door in his face, but he just kept talking. Something about some blue ray thingy now. Whatever.

I emerged a couple of minutes later and took my bursting at the seams makeup bag into the bathroom. I'll be damned if Lester didn't follow me into the bathroom too, sitting on the side of the bathtub chattering at me while I put on my makeup and tried to get my hair into some semblance of order.

Les followed me like a puppy dog when I went into the living room and snagged my purse on the kitchen counter. I had a notebook and pen tucked in there and I'd written down the dimension of the furniture to hold the two TVs I planned to buy today- a big one for the living room and a small one for the master bedroom. I also had a list of the things I still needed to buy, like food, cutlery and other miscellaneous stuff. If Lester wanted to shop, we'd shop! I'd have him begging for mercy in no time.

We headed out to the super Wal-Mart. I bought my regular stuff first, non perishable food, a set of dishes by Corel, a set of pots and pans, a giant baking set from Rachel Ray, a new top of the line coffee maker with a timer and the regular stuff of life like toilet paper and paper towels. Lester was getting antsy with me, so we finally went to Best Buy. It was like Lester just arrived at the pearly gates. Good grief.

Lester kept trying to draw me into his conversation with one of the sales guys, but I was too tired to deal with it. So I just pulled Lester aside for a minute and I gave him the maximum dimensions from my new furniture and my maximum price and told him to just pick something out. He looked like a kid in a candy store. I think there were even tears of joy in his eyes. Holy cow.

Lester and the sales guy were completely ignoring me now, so I wandered over to the computer section to play with laptops. I still had the old refurbished one but it was so slow it took forever to load a single webpage.

I finally heard my cell phone playing "Soldier Boy", my ringtone for Lester, and I answered.

"Where did you go, Beautiful?" he asked.

"I've been in the computer area for," I paused to check my watch, "the last 45 minutes. Have you picked out stuff for me yet?"

"Yeah," he replied sheepishly. "I've got everything I need to hook your new kickass TVs and equipment this evening. Two TVs, a Blue Ray, speakers and all the cords. You ready to check out yet?"

"Yeah," I answered. "Meet you at the front in a minute."

I really liked the MacBook but I wanted to get one of the computer guys at RangeMan to help me pick out the best computer for me. And I wasn't ready to deal with that yet.

I met Lester at the checkout. He had a huge pile of stuff in his cart and a beaming salesman was behind him with two TVs on a trolley. The total made my eyes bug out a little and I shot a glare at Lester. He just smiled innocently while I handed over my debit card.

We went back to my apartment and Lester and I carried in all of my new purchases. He handed over my apartment keys and his car keys distractedly, already focused on the tangle of wires spread out in front of him. I didn't have an access code for the front door yet, but I could just call the control center to get in. It's nice to be friends with the people who control access. I told Les I'd be back soon and ran downstairs to grab some groceries and lunch.

When I got back, I had to push the red assistance button. It was Cal working the system today and he buzzed me in. When I got back in my apartment, Lester was still fighting with wires and it didn't look like he'd made much progress.

I just sighed and started putting away my things. I was in the bedroom hanging up clothes when I heard Lester shout "Yes!"

I went into the living room and he had the TV sitting on the stand finally. However, it wouldn't turn on when he pressed the button so he started cursing under his breath as he started looking through wires again. I just rolled my eyes and went back in the bedroom.

I had to physically drag him away from the TV so we could eat lunch. I made us sandwiches that we ate with fruit and potato chips. Lester drank one of the beers leftover from last night while I snagged a Diet Coke.

By the time I'd finished unpacked all of the boxes in the bedroom, Lester had finally gotten the TV and all the other crap he'd bought to go with it hooked up. He seemed so proud of himself that I had to give him a hug. Then he started working on the TV in the bedroom and I started unpacking my supplies in the bathroom. The bedroom TV took much less time to hook up, thankfully.

Lester walked me around and showed me all of the security features. He mentioned that they'd installed special motion detectors by the front door and the sliding glass doors to the balcony in my apartment. I thought this was overkill but given my past track record of psychos, I couldn't blame them for their caution. But I've already got one superhero in my life so I doubt that Spiderman will climb up the side of my building to kidnap me. Surely a girl is allowed only one superhero, right?

He showed me how to work the control panel for my personal security system. We called Cal and I choose my four-digit alarm code and my safe word in case the alarm ever went off. Lester laughed like crazy when I choose Batman as my safe word. Spiderman was my danger word. I just smiled at him. Cal also promised to come by in the next few days and install panic buttons in the other rooms for me. I tried to argue with him but between him and Les, they talked me into it. Ugh.

I finally kicked Les out around 4 pm. I was exhausted and I needed a nap before meeting Connie, Lula and Mary Lou for a girls' night this evening.

I had a good time with the girls even though I was tired. I was now driving Ranger's Turbo, which was my favorite of his cars, until I had a chance to get a new car for myself, and Lula made me take her for a ride around the block in the Batmobile as she called it. They wanted to come back and see my new apartment, but I begged them to give me another couple of days to get things unpacked and organized first.

I spent the next couple of days getting unpacked and organized. I'd seen my family and most of my friends at some point for lunch or dinner, but I just wanted to get my apartment a little prettier before I started having people come over. Mary Lou came over one morning to see what I'd done so far and to help me pick out the decorative stuff. She really liked my apartment and was excited to help me shop. We went to all the discount home stores and places with home stuff and we came back with several rugs, curtains, paintings, throw pillows and blankets. With her help, my apartment started to finally look like home.

Now that my apartment was completed unpacked, I was utterly bored with nothing to do. I hadn't found a new job yet and there weren't many things posted that I was qualified for. I could always go back to work at RangeMan like Ranger suggested, but I wanted to discuss it with him first.

I was visiting my Merry Men at RangeMan pretty regularly. I thought that might help to keep me busy and maybe keep me from worrying quite so much about Ranger's extended absence. So I packed a bag with some exercise clothes just in case and headed over to RangeMan in the Porsche.

Since I stopped at Pino's first and got a bunch of pizzas for lunch, the guys were all very happy to see me. Hopefully it was seeing me, and not just the pizza boxes, that made them all happy. I sat around chatting with all the guys while eating lunch. I was even bored enough to sit around chatting and watching the monitors with Manny and Junior. Once that got old, I went up to Ranger's apartment and tried not to cry when I thought about him. I changed into my gym clothes and headed down to the gym to work out a little. The RangeMan gym was much nicer than the one in my apartment, plus there was the added benefit of drool-worthy Merry Men working out in tight little shorts. Yep, that'll motivate any girl to hit the treadmill!

I was the only one there for a while, and I was running on the treadmill when I felt someone behind me. It was Mick, the new guy, and he just stared at my ass and boobs while I ran. It was really annoying so I finally decided to cut my run a little short and head back up to Ranger's apartment to shower and change.

That became a pattern over the next couple of days. I'd hang out and work out at RangeMan and then have dinner with friends, Merry Men or my family.

Finally, Lester came to me and begged for help. They were swamped with paperwork with Ranger gone and they were having a hard time placating current and potential clients who wanted to talk to Ranger, and would I pretty please help them? He knew that I was good at administration and dealing with frazzled clients from seeing me at the inn, and I was happy to help.

Bobby and Tank were suitably impressed with my mad administration skills and I was using Ranger's office most days to try to help out. The guys took me to Rossini's for dinner when I convinced a prospective client to sign a much more lucrative contract than Tank had originally proposed. Yay me.

I yelled at Tank a little when I got a paycheck but he said that I was working and I'd earned it. Tank doesn't talk much so it was really hard to have an argument with him when he just ignored me. I just shoved the check into my purse. I'd deal with it later.

I was in the breakroom getting lunch when Bobby rushed in to grab me. He grabbed me from behind and spun me around in the air enough times to make me dizzy. When he let me go, I stumbled a little. Ignoring the questioning looks from the other guys in the room, Bobby just scooped me up in his arms and carried me like a bride into Tank's office.

"What's going on?" I asked, giggling slightly.

Tank smiled. Tank smiling is a little bit scary. Not because he doesn't have a nice smile, because he definitely does, but because it's even more rare than a Ranger smile. "Got word that the boss is fine, mission is over. He just has to finish the bureaucratic crap before he can call or come home."

I shrieked with joy and threw myself into Tank's massive arms. I hugged him tightly and then grabbed Bobby's hands. I started jumping up and down in joy and both Bobby and Tank were flat out laughing at me.

Lester stuck his head in the door. "Playing pogo stick again, Beautiful?" he asked.

I launched myself at him and he wasn't prepared. We tumbled ass over teakettles and I landed on top of him. I wrapped my arms around him anyway and gave him a big hug. "Ranger's coming home," I whispered happily. Lester just tightened his arms around me and smiled.

Bobby picked me up off of Lester and put me back down on my feet. Bobby was laughing but I just leaned my back against him and smiled happily. Nothing was going to get me down when I knew Ranger was okay.

We all went into Tank's office to chat. Tank hadn't heard from Ranger directly yet but he explained that the bureaucracy could take anywhere from a couple of hours (unlikely) to a couple of days or more (more likely) to complete and we might not hear anything from him until he was on his way to Trenton. We didn't know when he'd be back yet, but I was just happy to have it on pretty good authority that he was safe. It had been a long two months waiting for any kind of word.

Three days later, I was in the breakroom getting lunch and it was just Mick and me. I still wasn't really comfortable with him but I just tried to ignore him. I finally got tired of his staring and was about to leave when he shut the door behind him. That was weird, we usually left if open so people could come and go.

He walked over to me and then did the most idiotic thing imaginable. He tried to shove his tongue down my throat, holding my chin in a bruising grip. I leaped out of my chair to get away from him. "What the hell?" I shrieked.

"You are the community cunt, aren't you, bitch?" he said as he leered at me. "The company perk?" He reached out towards me again and I slapped his hands away.

"Are you insane? I'm not a community perk!" What the hell?

He grabbed me and tried to stick his hand down my shirt. His other arm was pressing tightly against my throat, pushing me into the wall. "If you want to play it this way, works for me," he sneered.

I started screaming bloody murder and using every move I'd ever learned. I started punching and kicking while screaming. I'd just got him with a good shot to the groin, which had shoved his balls into his chest cavity, when Lester kicked the door to the breakroom open. A wave of Merry Men poured into the room.

I gave Mick one final hard kick to the ribs and ran over to throw myself into Lester's arms. That's when I started crying. I hate the fact that I cry when I'm really upset or really angry.

Lester held me in his arms while I cried and I felt Bobby shoved his way through the crowd of guys to get to me. Bobby rubbed my back and kept making soothing noises. After a minute, I'd calmed down slightly.

Mick was still in the floor in the fetal position, groaning loudly.

I finally released my death grip on Lester and stepped back. There was a loud gasp from the guys and Bobby gestured towards my chest. I looked down. My shirt was torn almost in half and my lacy bra was on full display. I quickly pulled the torn edges together and crossed my arms over my chest, but not before every man in the office saw the livid red marks on my pale skin.

"What happened, Beautiful?" Lester asked me while Bobby wrapped one arm around my shoulder. I had moved from fear into rage now.

"Asshole there said I was community property and attacked me," I replied with my voice shaking. I was quivering in rage and the guys all had murder on their faces.

"Control room! NOW!" Tank roared and everyone left the room.

Bobby guided me out of the room and helped me to sit down in the closest office chair. He was talking soothingly to me, trying to calm me down. Lester came over with his jacket and Bobby wrapped me up in it.

We heard a loud oomph come from the break room followed by a loud crash. A moment later, Tank hurled the curled up Mick into the floor in the center of the control room. All of the Merry Men were standing around the perimeter of the room looking for something, or someone, to kill. These were my guys, my friends, and they were beyond pissed.

Tank stalked over and stood in front of Mick. "Someone find the video," he ordered and Cal shot over to his computer and started typing furiously. A few seconds later, the video was playing on every monitor. I watched as Mick came in and shut the door. I saw him lock it, which I didn't notice the first time. Then he was kissing me, groping me and trying to rip my shirt off. I saw myself fighting and kicking before finally kicking him in the balls.

Every man in the room seemed to grow in size like the Hulk. They all turned to look at Mick with rage in their eyes. "What the fuck," Lester said in the scariest voice I'd ever heard from him, "did you think you were doing?"

Mick was still lying on the floor. He tried to sit up but Lester kicked him in the ribs and sent him back to the floor with a whimper. "I thought she wanted it like that."

"What the fuck man?" said one of the Merry Men, I don't know which one.

Then Vince was kneeling in front of him, his gun in his hands. "Do you know who she is?" he asked with so much menace in his voice that I was tempted to pee on myself and it wasn't even directed at me.

"Just the office bitch," Mick responded with bravado. Stupid bravado.

"Wrong," Vince snarled, "that's the boss's woman. And our friend, our little sister."

"Oh shit," Mick whispered, his face going pale.

Hector stood in front of me, mostly blocking me from seeing the asshole on the floor. But the asshole could see Hector just fine, and Hector had a pair of knives out, rasping them together like he was about to enjoy a fine meal. Since Hector's reputation is that he has crazy knife skills when he's mad, this didn't bode well for the asshole.

"Oh shit is right, fucker. We don't appreciate you hurting our kid sister. But you better hope that we kill you before Ranger gets here because he will really make it bad for you," Ram said, and Mick paled even more.

The guys had closed in around Mick and were kicking at him when he tried to move. It was like the gang ring when the Slayers had me, only in reverse. Instead of the guys trying to grab Mick to rape him, they were trying to punish him for trying to rape me.

The adrenaline was crashing and I was shaking uncontrollably. Bobby was squatting beside me in the chair trying to console me. I had wrapped my arms so tightly around myself that I could barely feel my arms anymore.

Bobby barked out for Lester, and he pulled reluctantly away from Mick. Cal jumped in to take his place.

"Get my med kit and a can of Coke, now!" Bobby ordered Lester. Lester was back in a matter of moments, carrying Bobby's big black nylon medical kit and a can of Coke. Bobby grabbed the Coke, popped the top and pressed it against my lips.

"Drink, Steph, we have to get your blood sugar back up," he demanded. I just drank it.

Then he gently pried my arms away from my sides. "I need to check you, please, Steph. Please just sit back for a moment. Please, Steph."

Lester took hold of one of my hands while Bobby pulled open the jacket that I'd wrapped around my body. He pulled back the torn edges of my shirt and I whimpered. Lester squeezed my hand tighter and used his other hand to gently pet my hair. He was whispering to me softly in Spanish.

Bobby gently touched the bruise blooming around my throat where Mick had pushed me up against the wall and tried to choke me just before I kicked him. I could feel the tears sliding down my cheeks but I couldn't seem to stop them.

Then I felt a slight tingle on my spine just before the elevator doors opened.

"What the hell is going on here?" I heard Ranger's beautiful voice shout at the men standing in the middle of the room. "There's no one downstairs. What the fuck is going on?"

The guys just stepped back to let Ranger see Mick lying on the floor, bloody and beaten. Ranger stared at him for a beat before Lester raised his voice. "Ranger," he said, "we need you over here first."

Ranger looked over at Lester and saw me sitting there, crying quietly with my shirt ripped apart and bruises on my body. I looked away in shame and then he was in front of me.

"Babe," he said, kneeling in front of me. Then I threw myself into his arms and sobbed.


	79. Chapter 79

_**Chapter 79: Ranger/ Merry Men POV**_

Ranger was having a shitty day and it had been a really shitty few months. Nothing went according to plan, and the two-week trip turned into a two-month excursion to hell unexpectedly. He'd been in some godforsaken corner of bum fuck South America in a fucking rain forest. It'd taken him months to complete his objectives and he'd not been able to communicate with Stephanie or any of his men the entire time.

Then when Ranger had finally gotten himself out of hostile territory and into another more friendly country, the powers that be wouldn't let him make any phone calls. When he'd finally been debriefed, the governmental gofers who were supposed to get him back to Trenton admitted that they'd lost his cell phone at some point in the past two months. But since their cell phones were government secure lines, they refused to let him use their phones to call and let anyone know he was on his way home.

He'd contemplated just knocking out one of them to use his phone but he managed to barely restrain himself. He'd just have to surprise everyone.

Instead, Ranger was the one who was surprised when the government idiots let him out in front of RangeMan and there was no one at the front desk to greet him. There's supposed to be someone at that desk 24/7, no matter what.

With mounting aggravation, Ranger took the elevator up to five to find most of his men standing in a circle on the control room floor, kicking something with murderous intent. He'd rarely seen these men look this angry.

He'd roared in frustration, demanding to know what the hell was going on.

Then Lester had called him over and the guys had stepped back to let him pass. He saw Stephanie huddled in the chair, her face deathly pale and her beautiful blue eyes swimming in tears. She'd tried to smile when she saw him but then she looked away when he saw that her shirt was ripped and there were already bruises forming on her delicate skin. Bobby was kneeling next to her, trying to get her to drink some Coke.

He didn't even realize that he'd moved until he was in front of her and she was crying against his chest.

Stephanie eventually cried herself basically to sleep, pushed past her endurance. Ranger stood, lifting Stephanie in his arms and looked around the room. The unidentified man in the center of the circle tried to crawl away, but Cal stomped on his hand and then Binkie kicked him to stop his movement.

Lester caught Ranger's eye. "We need to get Steph checked by Bobby first, then I'll explain," Lester said. Ranger nodded once and turned towards the door with an unconscious Stephanie in his arms, her brown curls trailing over his arm. The Merry Men were deathly quiet as he walked by them and he felt every eye on the beautiful woman in his arms.

Lester and Bobby followed Ranger as he walked into the elevator to go to Bobby's clinic space on the third floor. Lester stuck his head out of the doors and yelled at the guys, "Keep him alive and conscious until we get back."

Bobby rushed in front of Ranger to flick on lights and grab supplies. Ranger gently laid Stephanie down on the examination table and swore vehemently when he saw the bruises and abrasions on her delicate skin. Her eyes were red and swollen and she also had a massive bruise on her jaw and throat like someone had grabbed her. He could see the tear tracks on her face where she'd been crying.

"Report," Ranger barked.

Lester grabbed Ranger and pulled him away from Stephanie while Bobby pulled on latex gloves to examine her. Ranger took one step back but refused to let go of her hand.

"Steph's been helping us with paperwork and clients while you were gone. She was in the break room getting lunch when Mick came in and attacked her. We have it on video. He roughed her up, probably planned to rape her. Steph fought back and started screaming. By the time I kicked the door in, she'd already put him on the floor. We were just explaining the facts of life to him when you came in," Lester explained.

As he'd spoken, Ranger's jaw had gotten tighter and tighter, and now there was a small muscle jerking from the pressure he was putting on his teeth and jaws. "You mean to tell me that one of my own guys attacked Stephanie in my own fucking building?" he ground out through his clenched teeth.

Lester just nodded. Ranger's free hand balled into a fist and Lester took an involuntary step back at the deadly look that crossed Ranger's face.

It took Ranger a moment to wrestle with his desire to back into the control room and rip the heart out of the bastard who'd hurt his Babe and his desire to stay with Stephanie while she was hurt.

Bobby cleared his throat and Ranger and Lester turned back to face him. "They're just bruises as best I can tell, but the bruise around her neck is bad. Everything else is superficial. I am concerned about the swelling that she'll have around her throat and I'd like to keep her here for the next few hours just to be on the safe side," Bobby explained.

Lester swore fluently in both English and Spanish with a few Arabic swear words for good measure. Mick was going to die. Slowly. And painfully.

Ranger nodded at Bobby.

Bobby worked efficiently to strip Stephanie of her torn shirt and got her changed into a hospital gown. He attached the leads to a heart monitor and then pulled them into his portable monitor. Then he attached a pulse and blood oxygen monitor to her finger and plugged it in as well.

Her blood oxygen was a little low, so Bobby pulled a mobile oxygen canister open and connected it to a thin plastic tube that wrapped around Stephanie's head. Two small protrusions fit into her nose and then he turned on the oxygen to help her breathe.

Then Bobby got an IV inserted into Stephanie's arm in just a moment. He hooked it up to a bag of saline and sugar to bring up her blood sugar and then injected a mild painkiller into the port in her wrist. He would monitor her vital signs over the next while to be sure that she wasn't in any respiratory distress. At the first sign of any distress, he had an intubation kit ready to protect her airway.

He cleaned and rubbed ointment on the abrasions, hopping to prevent an infection. He couldn't do much about the bruising except apply cold packs over the worst of them.

Once Bobby had Stephanie hooked up to the monitors and in stable condition, he turned back to Ranger and Lester with rage and murder written across his face. Although he was a medic and a healer, he was also a soldier, and right now the soldier part of him wanted to use all of his knowledge of human anatomy to inflict the maximum amount of pain on the son of a bitch who'd dared assault one of his best friends and one of the women in the world who just accepted him as he was. He'd kill him, bring him back, and kill him all over again until medical science wouldn't revive him any longer.

"She's had a bad feeling about him since the day you left, boss, but he never did anything suspicious or to draw attention to himself," Bobby explained. "You go take care of the asshole who did this and I'll take care of Stephanie."

Ranger nodded, his eyes scanning Stephanie's prone form.

Then Ranger and Lester walked out of the clinic and Bobby sat down to keep an eye on Stephanie while they dealt with the filth who had inflicted her injuries.

Ranger stormed into the control room, shaking with explosive rage.

"Video!" he roared. Cal gave Mick one last glare and then pulled up the video again. Ranger stalked over to the bank of monitors and watched as Mick assaulted Stephanie in the break room. Cal had loaded the audio this time, so that Ranger and all the Merry Men could hear Mick insulting Stephanie as well as assaulting her.

There were growls emanating from the throats of most of the Merry Men. Ranger's jaw was clenched so tightly that he was surprised that he hadn't snapped the bone yet.

Ranger stalked over to the crumpled form lying on the ground. He grabbed him by the shirt and hauled him to his feet. "You fucked up," he told the bloody man with ice in his voice and death in his eyes. "You fucked up bad."

Mick could only whimper. "I didn't know," he forced out from between split lips and loose teeth. He lost control of his bladder and wet himself as he looked at the deadly enraged man in front of him.

Ranger pulled back his right arm and punched Mick with all the rage in him. Mick's head snapped back and he went limp. Ranger flung him to the floor in disgust. "Get him into a holding cell. Keep him alive," he snarled. "For now."

Four of the guys picked up one of Mick's extremities. They hauled him none to gently into the elevator, bashing his head into the wall a time or two, completely by accident, of course.

Ranger turned to Tank, who was still standing there with his arms across his chest. "Call in anyone you need to. I think everyone's too pissed to work right now. Get them into the gym to work it off before they kill each other." Tank just nodded and Ranger turned on his heel, walking back to Stephanie's side.

Bobby had Stephanie covered in blankets but she was still shivering. It was partly from the stress but also partly because of the ice packs he had placed on some of her bruises, especially those around her neck. The ice would help to limit the swelling and inflammation and that was the top priority at the moment. She was still cold and shaking, her body trying to generate heat.

Ranger walked in the door with Lester hot on his heels. He speared Bobby with a look. "How is she?" Ranger asked.

"Stable. I'm using cold packs to try to limit the swelling and it's making her cold. I've got her covered in blankets but she's still shivering," Bobby explained.

Ranger nodded once and climbed onto the exam table, pulling Stephanie tightly into his arms. Bobby reached over and adjusted the blankets so that they covered both Stephanie and Ranger. Within minutes, Stephanie had stopped shivering violently but a fine film of sweat covered Ranger's face.

Bobby's watch beeped, and he peeled back the blankets and removed the ice packs. He'd swap them out for fresh ones in another twenty minutes. He pulled back the blankets covering Ranger, allowing fresh air to circulate over his body to cool him down. When Stephanie started to look flushed, Bobby pulled all but one of the blankets down to reduce the heat.

Bobby took the time to look at Ranger, looking for any evidence of any injuries or wounds. He didn't see any obvious ones, but Ranger was still fully dressed. He looked tired and a little leaner than his usual muscular bulk, but he didn't seem to be ill.

"What about you, boss?" Bobby asked Ranger. "Anything with you I should know about?" This was standard for any man returning from a mission. Bobby would need to know if he'd had any injuries or illnesses while he was away in God only knows where doing who the hell knows what.

"Just need more sleep than the government grunts thought was enough," Ranger replied. Bobby knew what he meant. The government suits were usually so eager to get the details that they didn't allow the men who actually put their asses on the line enough time to rest and recuperate from whatever piss poor conditions they had usually been stuck in for days or weeks or months.

When Bobby went to replace the cold packs on Stephanie's throat and chest, she pulled back from the cold sensation and started to wiggle a little. Ranger was holding her too tightly for her to be able to twist enough for them to fall. Suddenly, her eyes popped open and she started to struggle.

"Shh, Babe," Ranger whispered. "I've got you. You're safe now. I've got you."


	80. Chapter 80

_**Chapter 80: Stephanie's POV**_

I woke up with a start. My chest was freezing but my side felt like it was roasting. I tried to move but I was being held down. What the hell?

Then I heard the most beautiful sound in the world – Ranger's voice in my ear. I turned to look at him, and my heart almost broke at the concerned look in his beautiful brown eyes. I tried to tell him I missed him, but I couldn't speak. My throat felt like someone had scrubbed it with sandpaper.

I felt myself start to panic again when I saw Bobby appear over Ranger's shoulder. I looked at him, completely confused.

"Shh, Steph, it's okay. Let's get you sitting up, okay?" Bobby said, and I suddenly felt the head of the bed start to incline more. Ranger turned slightly so he was on his back instead of his side, but he kept his arm under my neck wrapped around my shoulder.

Then Bobby was there, tucking a pillow under my head. Ranger withdrew his arm and sat up, turning to face me. I looked back and forth between Ranger and Bobby.

"What happened?" I tried to say but I just squeaked slightly.

"Don't talk, Steph, please," Bobby said. "You hurt your throat earlier and it will probably take a couple of days before you can talk normally again."

What the heck happened to me? When did Ranger get back? Wait, Ranger's back? I turned and grabbed Ranger, hugging him to me. I felt his arms wrap around me and one hand rubbed my back gently.

I pulled back to look him in the eyes. "Welcome home," I mouthed to him and he kissed me gently on my forehead. He looked so exhausted. It made me want to cry that this was what he came home to see.

"Thanks, Babe," he whispered in my ear.

I pulled back and glared at Bobby. I raised both eyebrows in silent question.

Bobby cleared his throat. "Do you remember what happened at lunch? With Mick in the break room?"

I furrowed my brow for a moment, thinking. Oh hell, the asshole grabbed me!

Bobby frowned slightly at the look of pure evil I shot him. "Yeah, the bastard attacked you. But you were able to knock the shit out of him before we got into the room. But between screaming at him and where he pinned you against the wall, your throat is pretty swollen and raw. It'll take a couple of days before it's completely better. And the less you talk, the sooner you'll heal."

I nodded slowly. Now that he'd mentioned it, my throat ached dreadfully. The no talking part was going to be torture, though. I'm not a quiet person.

Bobby noticed. "Are you in pain now, Steph?" he asked. I nodded yes.

He picked up a syringe and reached for my hand. "This is a mild painkiller. It'll help with the pain but it won't make you sick or loopy like the medicine did last time. Okay?" I nodded.

Once he'd injected the stuff into my arm, he picked up a big spray bottle of blue stuff. He explained again. "This is a topical numbing medicine. Dentists use it a lot and so do dermatologists. Open wide and I'll spray your throat. It'll numb it and should help with the pain," he said.

I obediently opened my mouth like a little bird and he sprayed several times into my throat from different angles. When he moved his hand out of my mouth, I wrinkled my nose at the nasty taste. "Yeah, it's not very tasty," Bobby admitted. I just raised my eyebrows.

I turned to look at Ranger. "Mick?" I mouthed.

His mouth tightened and I saw the blank face slam down. Oh, please, don't have let Ranger have killed for me. Again.

"He won't bother you anymore, Babe," Ranger growled. I widened my eyes and drew my hand across my throat like a knife.

"Not yet. He's in a holding cell until I decide what to do with him," Ranger snarled.

I grabbed his hand and shook my head. No, don't kill him!

"Babe," he said and I just shook my head more vehemently. Okay, shouldn't have done that, I think I knocked something loose somehow. I felt myself start to sway and then Bobby and Ranger were holding me steady.

I blinked a few times to clear my vision. I glanced at Bobby and pantomimed writing, pretending to hold a pen while I wrote on my left palm. Bobby stepped away for a second and then returned with a pad of paper and a ballpoint pen.

_No killing!_ I wrote, with three exclamation points.

"Babe," Ranger started. I glared mutinously at him.

_No!_ I wrote.

"Babe, he attacked you," Ranger tried again.

_Yes & I shoved his balls into next year & I'm pretty sure the guys didn't leave him alone either_, I wrote.

"He deserves to suffer! He hurt you!" Ranger exclaimed.

_Yes but I'm not dead. I'm fine. Promise you won't kill him!_ I wrote.

"Babe," Ranger said.

_PROMISE_! I wrote in all caps. Then I underlined it three times.

"Fine," Ranger said on a sigh, "I won't kill him just yet. But I will make him wish that he was dead."

I contemplated that for a minute.

_As long as he's not dead_, I wrote. They could beat the snot out of him as long as they didn't kill him. Perhaps a little quality time with pissed off Merry Men would help him to reform.

Ranger finally nodded once.

Then I picked up my pen again. _So how was your trip?_

That's when Ranger looked like he was thinking about smiling and he pulled me tightly to him, kissing my hair.

I was tired from the adrenaline crash so I just dozed restlessly in Ranger's arms for the next little while. When I was awake and aware enough, I started glaring at Bobby and plucking at the various things attached to me. I'd been freaking shot and still had less doohickeys attached to me!

I tried using The Force to make him come and remove all the stuff but that didn't seem to work. So then I used the 'Burg death glare but he seemed impervious to it. So then I tried the puppy dog eyes and that did the trick.

"You really want me to take all that stuff off you, don't you?" Bobby finally asked.

I nodded vigorously. Bobby laughed and came over to start disconnecting the forty-nine or so wires attached to me. Ugh.

Once I was no longer connected to tons of medical crap, I ran into the next problem. I didn't have a shirt. Lester noticed the problem and quickly returned with a black RangeMan zip up hoodie. I smiled and took it. Then I glared at Lester and Bobby until they turned around so I could put it on without flashing anyone.

Ranger just sat there behind me, never moving. Bobby gave me the standard spiel, let him know if the pain increased, any problems breathing, etc. Yada yada yada.

Bobby finally let me go and I pulled out the pad of paper and pen I'd stolen from Bobby. _Where are all the Merry Men?_ I wrote.

"In the gym working out aggression," Ranger replied.

I nodded and started pulling him towards the gym.

"Babe, you need to rest," Ranger tried to say. I kissed him on the cheek and mouthed "later" to him.

We walked into the gym. The men were beating the shit out of punching bags, popping out sit ups like freaking machines, setting the new world record on the treadmills and sparring with each other actually using the pads this time. Yep, the testosterone in the room was overwhelming.

I started scribbling frantically on my pad and then passed it to Ranger.

"Men," he roared in his military commander's voice, which is very sexy by the way. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to him. When they saw us standing there, they all gathered around us. I was smiling at the guys, trying to reassure them that I was fine.

"Stephanie's throat is injured from the," he took a deep breath, "attack," he finished with a growl. I heard answering growls from the Merry Men. "So she can't talk. But she wanted me to read some things for you."

Ranger turned to look at me and I gave him an encouraging nod and a thumbs up. "First, she wants to thank all of you for getting to her so quickly. She knew you were there and wouldn't let anything happen to her." Ranger had to clear his throat.

"Second, she doesn't want us to kill the SOB," Ranger said, his jaw flexing. I heard the guys grumbling at that. "But," he continued, "she's fine with it if we encourage him to treat women with more respect." Several of the Merry Men smiled at that.

I jabbed at a line on the note pad with my finger and Ranger shot me a pissy glance. "But no killing him or leaving him permanently maimed," he read. I heard a groan of disappointment from the guys.

Ranger actually rolled his eyes at me as he read the next line. "She's glad that you're all her friends and that you're on her side, because she says you were are all really freaking scary this afternoon and she almost peed her pants when you were playing with weapons in front of the asshole." That got a couple of chuckles out of the guys.

Ranger looked at me. "He did pee his pants when he saw me, Babe. We'll have to replace the carpet in the control room." I just grinned. Good.

"Finally, you should take advantage of the silence now because when her voice is back she needs to have a conversation with each of you regarding your overuse of four-letter words." That got a smile out of everyone, including Ranger.

I smiled again and opened up my arms for hugs. One by one, each of the Merry Men, deliciously sweaty and shirtless in most cases, came up to hug me gently like I was made out of glass. I smiled, kissed them on the cheek and mouthed "thank you" to all of them except Hector, I mouthed "gracias" instead.

Then I blew them all a kiss and turned around to get back on the elevator, with Ranger right behind me.

This time, I let Ranger hit the button for seven. As soon as we walked into his apartment, I tugged at his arm and he stopped, looking at me quizzically. I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him tightly. His arms came around me and we just held each other for a minute. When I pulled back slightly, he let me go. I grabbed his hand and led him to the sofa. I pushed him down on the center cushion and bent down to remove his boots.

"Babe," he tried to say but I just put my finger against his lips to shush him. I finished removing his boots and sat down on the coffee table with his feet in my lap. I peeled off his socks and started rubbing his feet. His head fell back against the back of the sofa and he sighed, releasing tension. I rubbed his feet for a while and then moved up to massage the calves of his legs, which were tight and hard like iron. Once they were relaxed as well, I stood up and tugged off his t-shirt. I sat down beside him and pushed at one shoulder until he turned so that he was sitting in between my legs with his back to my front. His shoulders were knots on top of knots and I started rubbing and squeezing to get him relaxed. I kept kneading out the knots, working out the tension from his massive muscles. When I finally felt him relax, I leaned back and adjusted a pillow behind my back. Then I reached up and pulled him back against me, my fingers tunneling into his hair and gently massaging his scalp. Ranger leaned against me with a groan and I kept rubbing his scalp until I knew he was asleep. I pulled my fingers out of his hair and wrapped them around his chest, holding him tightly. Then I joined him in dreamland.

A few hours later, judging by the slight bit of daylight coming through the windows, I woke up again. I was in Ranger's bed, wearing one of his t-shirts and my underwear, and I was wrapped around a silk boxer clad but otherwise naked Ranger. I took advantage of the opportunity to watch him sleep. I'd woken up to him watching me sleep many, many times before, but it was very rare for me to be awake while he slept.

He looked exhausted with dark bags under his eyes. He had a small scar on his left bicep that hadn't been there before. It was still pink and healing. To my untrained but very experienced eye, it looked like it should have had stitches but I didn't see any evidence of them. Everything else I could see looked healthy and yummy.

I snuggled back into his arms, put a small kiss on his chest and went back to sleep.

When I woke up again, it was dark outside. Ranger wasn't in bed, but when I reached over, his side of the bed was still warm. Guess he'd only been out of bed for a moment or two. I got up and walked into the living room. There was very little light but I was able to see Ranger standing next to the window in his living room, staring out into the night. I walked up behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist and laid my head against his bare back.

I was being a little clingy, but I'd missed him dreadfully during the two long months that he was gone. His body remained tense so I stepped back with mental sigh.

I tugged gently on his arm, trying to get him to turn towards me so I could see his face. When he finally turned to face me, his eyes were hard and shadowed.

Oh, no, hell no! If he starts in on the whole you got hurt because of me shit, I will punch him. I mirror his image, crossing my arms over my chest, and glare at him. "What's wrong?" I mouth to him.

He raises one eyebrow at me and I raised one right back. Okay, so I can't do the one eyebrow thing. I raised both eyebrows back at him. When he refused to speak, I rolled my eyes and stepped away. I grabbed my pad of paper and pen off the coffee table and started writing.

_This was not your fault. Don't even go there!_ I wrote, walking over and showing him the note.

He just shook his head. "He was one of my guys, and he hurt you. How is that not my fault?" I'm pretty sure the last was rhetorical question but I decided to answer it anyways.

_He had to have a clean record or you wouldn't have hired him. I'm sure that if there was a note about being a wanna be rapist in his record, you wouldn't have hired him. You're Batman, not a psychic. I was able to handle it and the guys were in the room within seconds of my scream. So it's NOT YOUR FAULT!_ I wrote, underlining the last part.

"Babe, I should have known," Ranger replied.

I threw my hands up in the air in frustration and snatched the notepad back out of his hands.

_How were you supposed to know when he'd never done anything like that before?_

Ranger just looked at me, blank face firmly in place.

_Drop the blank face, please. Just talk to me._

"There's nothing to say other than I'm sorry that I failed you," he replied.

I snatched the notepad out of his hands and bonked him on the head with it. I wrote something else and then bonked him on the head again before handing it back to him.

_You make so mad I wish I could scream! If I could right now. This was not your fault, it wasn't something you could predict. I've never had a problem with any of your guys before so there was no way to predict that he would go crazy like that._

"Babe," was all he would say. I grabbed the pad back.

_Did you never have guys in the Army who ended up being jackasses despite their rank and service record?_

He nodded.

_Did you think it was your fault when guys came into your unit but were idiots?_

He shook his head no.

_So why do you think this was your fault?_

"Because he hurt you."

_No, he only tried. I was able to get him off of me and your guys were there 10 seconds later. So I'm fine._

He just shrugged. Argh, he was making me crazy!

_Was it your fault that Blondie and Brownie grabbed me in NC?_

He shook his head no.

_Then why do you think it's your fault that a new guy who hadn't been here long enough to be out of his probation status turned out to not be the man you thought he was? Isn't that the whole point of a probationary period, to have the time to get to know the guy and see whether he'll fit in?_

Ranger looked away and I knew I'd won. Sometimes being logical does have its benefits.

_We've talked about this. Please don't shut me out and please don't blame yourself. _

Ranger sighed after he read this and then looked at me. He gave a slight nod and I smiled widely.

_I'm so glad you're home. I was starting to get really worried! I missed you terribly._

"I missed you too, Babe, and I'm glad I'm home too. I'm sorry I worried you," he replied.

I just shrugged at the last part, I knew he'd have contacted me somehow if he could.

_Are you okay? _I wrote, and he shrugged. "Just tired mostly," he said and I nodded.

_Food?_ I had just written this when my stomach let out a roar. I looked down in shock, it sounded like I had a hungry lion trapped in my belly.

Ranger just laughed at me and pulled me close. Yes, finally!

I looked up and smiled sheepishly. Sounded like my stomach was ready to go chase down a wildebeest or something. Ranger kissed my forehead and then buzzed Ella, asking her for something easy to eat with a sore throat.

"Bobby will want to check your throat again before you eat," Ranger said before calling Bobby and telling him to come on up. I shot Ranger a look and then scampered into his bedroom to find some pants. I didn't feel like putting on regular clothes, so I found a pair of Ranger's sweatpants and pulled them on. They were huge on me but I was able to tie the cord tight enough to keep them mostly on my hips. I had to roll up the bottoms several times so I could walk without falling on my face.

Bobby was up a few minutes later. He poked and prodded at the big bruise on my neck until I slapped his hand away with a glare. Then he made me open my mouth wide while he looked in with a light of some sort. Then he used a Popsicle stick to push down on my tongue so he could look some more.

"Any problems breathing?" he asked and I shook my head no.

"How the pain, on a scale of one to ten, with ten the worst?

I held up four fingers.

"Stephanie…" he warned so I sighed and held up seven fingers.

"That sounds about right," he said as he pulled a bottle of medicine out of his bag. "This is a liquid version of the painkiller I gave you earlier. Take one tablespoon every two to four hours for the pain," he handed me the bottle and a plastic spoon.

Then he pulled out several suckers in a plastic bag and I smiled at him. Candy! He just shook his head and smiled. "These are numbing pops, made out of something similar to the spray I used earlier. Suck on them like a regular lollipop for ten to twenty seconds at a time every two to three hours. You need to take the medicine and use the pops every few hours even if it doesn't hurt. Okay?" he asked.

I smiled and reached out for a lollipop, ripping the wrapper off and shoving it in my mouth. My nose wrinkled at the taste, yuck, cherry flavored ick.

When it seemed about long enough, I took it out of my mouth and rewrapped it in the waxed paper wrapping. Within a minute or two, I could feel the pain slowly vanishing from my throat. I raised my eyebrows at Bobby and mouthed "wow!"

"Yeah," he said with a laugh. "Those are used a lot when kids have strep throat infections or their tonsils removed. Works pretty good, doesn't it?" I just nodded.

Then he pointed at the liquid medicine. "Go ahead and take a dose while your throat is numbed." I carefully measured out the spoonful of medicine and swallowed it. I grimaced when swallowing caused my throat to hurt again slightly.

"It will be sore for a day or two yet. You can have plain liquids, not anything super hot or acidic like coffee yet, and soft foods like soup, pudding, mashed potatoes, that sort of thing. You do need to drink plenty of fluids like water or Gatorade," he explained.

I grabbed my pad. _Ice cream? _I wrote.

Bobby burst out laughing. "Only you, Bomber. Yes, ice cream and cold things are great on your throat right now and will help reduce the swelling. But just the plain stuff, not any of that weird girly stuff with chunks of hard things in it."

I deflated slightly at the second part. Okay, so probably Chunky Monkey is out but there were still lots of things that I could eat and enjoy!

I shot my best smile at Bobby with a pleading look. "Give me a list and I'll make sure someone gets you what you want," he replied.

I threw my arms around him in a hug and then flipped my note pad to a new page. Once I had written down what I wanted, I ripped the page out and handed it to Bobby.

He laughed when he saw my long list. "Steph, it'll only be for a couple of days!" I just glared at him. I was under medical orders to eat ice cream and I wasn't going to let a little thing like the exact length of my recovery stop me!

Bobby ruffled my curls and told me he'd have the stuff to me soon.

Ranger sat down next to me on the couch and pulled me close. I sat with my head on his shoulder until there was a knock at the door and Ella walked in pulling a rolling cart. She had a big Crock Pot on it, which she immediately plugged in. She sat out a plate of sandwiches and cut up vegetables, presumable for Ranger, and started putting little plastic containers of pudding, gelatin, yogurt and applesauce in the fridge.

"Hello dear," Ella said to me. "Welcome back," she nodded at Ranger. "There's creamy potato soup in the Crock Pot and a stack of sandwiches and vegetables for Ranger. There's also an assortment of soft things in the fridge now. Just give me a call if you need anything else. Otherwise, I think the two of you need to rest and I'll pick up everything tomorrow morning."

I love Ella. I wish Ella would adopt me.

As soon as she was gone, I raced into the kitchen and got out two big bowls for Ranger and me. I ladled the steaming soup carefully in the bowls and Ranger helped me carry them to the table. Ranger and I both had a couple of bowls of soup each, and I looked longingly at his sandwich of thick sliced roast beef, lots of lettuce and juicy red tomatoes. Yum.

"Babe, stop looking at my sandwich like that," Ranger said and I raised my eyebrows. He lowered his voice to a sexy rumble. "Or I'm going to make you look at me like that."

Eek. Okay, back to the soup it is! Ranger just chuckled at me as I turned bright red and resumed slurping my soup.

Once I was done with my soup, I ate a chocolate pudding cup, closing my eyes in joy after every bite. Ranger growled once, the low sound emanating from his chest, I opened my eyes and his eyes were dark and dilated. I offered him a pudding cup but he just shook his head. I scooted a little farther way and enjoyed my second cup.

Once I was done with dinner, I could feel myself getting tired again. It had been a very long day on top of several weeks of little sleep once Ranger's mission had gone on longer than he'd expected with no contact. Now that he was back, safe and sound, I figured I'd sleep well tonight. So I kissed Ranger gently and got up and went into his bathroom. I took care of business and then washed the little makeup I'd worn this morning off my face. I had left my toothbrush behind during my previous visit when Ranger was gone, so I brushed my teeth and got ready for bed.

I came back out, kissed Ranger gently again and then sat with my forehead against his, breathing in his unique smell. I took my medicine, kissed him one more time and then tucked myself into his nice, big bed.


	81. Chapter 81

_**Chapter 81**_

When I woke up the next time, it was morning and I was alone. Ranger's side of the bed was mussed up so I was assuming that he'd slept with me during the night. My throat still hurt but it wasn't terrible. I popped one of Bobby's magic lollipops into my mouth to get the pain under control. I took care of Mother Nature in Ranger's super fantastic bathroom and then went in search of my own personal superhero.

We'd never really had "the talk" again about what we were to each or where we were going, but he'd opened up to, had shared his thoughts with me and was generally treating me like a partner. Like he'd said before, and I'd said before that, we were in a relationship already regardless of what we called it.

I was a little scared that being back in Trenton permanently would change things but I was trying to keep that fear from paralyzing me. I hadn't found a job that worked for me yet, most positions being too painfully boring to even contemplate. My three years as a BEA had gotten me a little addicted to the excitement. Not that I wanted my cars blowing up on a regular basis again, but I needed something more than just sitting at a desk all the time. And there was no way under the sun that I would go to work at the personal products factory that my mom kept discussing. Ugh. It's bad enough having to buy them when there's a guy running the register, no way I could actually make the darn things.

I found Ranger sitting on his sofa. He was just sitting there, not moving at all, with his blank face on. I had a feeling that this wouldn't be a fun conversation.

I decided that denial would suffice for a few more minutes, so I went over to the fridge and poured two glasses of orange juice, one for me and one for him. I walked over and sat one glass in front of him and I slowly sipped on my glass of juice as I sat down beside him on the couch. The acidity and coolness burned my throat slightly but I figured OJ is supposed to be good for you, right?

He didn't seem to be in the mood to chat so I just let him be silent. After a couple of minutes, I got up and went to find my purse. I was pretty sure one of the guys had brought it upstairs. I found it and pulled out a paperback. Since inheriting Emily's enormous collection of books, I usually had a novel or two with me at all times in case I got bored. So I started reading and was quickly caught up in the latest Tom Clancy novel.

At some point later, long enough that I'd finished all of my orange juice, I jumped when Ranger finally spoke. Of course, all he said was "Babe," so I just looked up at him and smiled. When he didn't speak again after several moments, I went back to reading my book. No point in both of us being bored.

Finally he sighed. "Babe, I'm sorry about everything that happened."

I looked up at him and nodded. "Not your fault," I tried to mouth to him. He just sighed so I rolled my eyes and reached for my pad of paper.

_Not your fault_, I wrote.

He just looked at me, blank face firmly in place. I sighed, rolled my eyes at him and went back to my book.

A few minutes later he growled slightly and then snatched my book out of my hands. I looked up with a glare.

"I'm trying to talk to you, Babe. At least pretend to pay attention."

I snatched my pad. _If you were saying anything relevant or even new, I would pay attention. But you've said like five words in the last 30 minutes and they've all been bullshit. Now give me back my book!_

"No."

_Stop being a jerk, Ranger. If you want to talk, I'll talk. But you know I don't handle the whole sitting still and being quiet thing very well. So if you're just going to sulk because someone turned out to be an ass, then I'd really rather read about Jack Ryan. So give it back._

"I am not sulking!" Well, at least that got a little more than a monotone reaction from him.

_Fine, you want to talk? Tell me what you can about this trip. Why did it take so long? Why didn't you call to say you were on your way?_

"Babe, I can't discuss details of a classified mission."

_Duh, that's why I said tell me what you can._ I rolled my eyes at him.

"Just went FUBAR from the very beginning. The other guys I was working with weren't well trained and didn't know shit about how to accomplish the goals of the mission. Then the government gofers lost my cell phone and wouldn't let me call anyone to tell them that I was back, on my way, anything," he said.

_Sounds pretty rough. Sorry it sucked. Anything I can do?_

"No, that's just how some trips are," he said.

_Is the scar on your arm new? I don't remember seeing it before, _I wrote, pointing at the mostly healed gash on his bicep.

"Yeah, it's new, and no, I can't talk about it."

_Want me to kiss it and make it better? _ Then I smiled and started making a kissy face.

"Babe."

So I leaned over and kissed his scar. When I licked it gently, he jumped so I sat back with a smirk. I was happy to have gotten a reaction beyond the blank face.

_Want to go see my new apartment?_

"Babe."

_Seriously, I can't talk but I have a bigger vocabulary than you. I know you know more words than just Babe!_

He just looked forward. I waited a moment for a reaction but got none. So I wrote one last note. _I'm really glad that you're back and that you're ok._

I was trying to walk a fine line here and I didn't know exactly where the edge was. I knew he'd had a really rough couple of months and coming back to find me in tears and bruised wouldn't have exactly been a relaxing reunion. But it felt like he was trying to push me away again and I just wasn't going to let him do it. Maybe Lester would be able to provide some insight.

I gave him a kiss on the cheek and then got up. I still had some clothes there from when I stayed the last time, when I was apartment hunting, and they'd magically gotten cleaned and hung up in the closet. I really wished that my apartment came with an Ella too.

When I walked out fully dressed, Ranger turned and looked at me but then turned back to stare out the window. I walked over to him and I tried to tug him up to standing but he just kept sitting. I knew there was no way that I could move him if he didn't want to move so I just sat down beside him and wrote another note.

_I'm going to go check on the Merry Men and make sure they are all ok. Do you want to come too? Please?_

He read the note but didn't move.

_Ok, I'll be back in a little bit. If you decide to come down, I'm sure they'll all be really glad to see you. _

No response so I walked out and got into the elevator.

I went down to five and the guys were mostly very subdued. I think most of them had a hangover. I found Lester in his area with his head down on his arms. His hair was going every which way and he looked faintly green. He reminded me of Shrek.

I tapped him on the shoulder and he groaned loudly. "Go away," he ordered.

I had to bite back a bit of a giggle. I tapped him on the shoulder again. "Go away!" he growled for a second time.

So I took his empty coffee cup off his desk and went to get him a refill. If I needed his help with Ranger, then I needed him conscious. I sat it back down right in front of him and waved my hand so that the smell of coffee would waft towards him.

He turned his head so that his face was pointed towards me but he still didn't open his eyes. So I leaned down and gently pried open one of his eyes. A bloodshot green eye stared at me for a second.

He jumped. "Shit, Steph, what the hell?"

I pulled out my note pad. _God Les, you look awful. Are you ok?_

He ran a hand through his hair and then took a big drink of his coffee. He shuddered as he drank it.

"We all got a little trashed last night," he explained.

That would explain the crypt-like silence and the fact that I didn't see anyone moving.

_Should I go buy The Cure?_

"Oh, God, my head. Might not be a bad idea, Beautiful, if you want any of us coherent in the next eight hours."

_Ok, how many of you need to be cured?_

"God, I don't know. A lot. Just let me die in peace," and he put his head back down on his arms.

I went to find Bobby and he didn't look much better but at least he was trying to look at his computer screen. The way he was squinting at it, I don't think he was having a whole lot of luck, but at least he was trying.

I knocked gently on the wall to get his attention and he grimaced at the sound. He closed both eyes and then opened one to look at me. He swallowed a few times before speaking.

"Bomber, are you okay?" he asked. I nodded and he looked relieved. Probably he wasn't up to being the medic right now.

So I once again wrote on my pad. _Seems like everyone is a bit hung over this morning. Want me to go get The Cure? Anything else I should get? The giant economy size bottle of ibuprofen?_

It took him far longer than usual to read the note. "I've never tried your cure so I don't know how well it works. Worth a try, I guess," he mumbled.

I reached over and patted his hand and then turned off the light above his head. He groaned his thanks and blessed me.

I walked out trying to stifle giggles. I knew the guys had all gotten drunk because of what had happened yesterday, but it was just kind of funny to see these big, strong guys looking green and sweaty.

I went back up to seven and I heard the shower running. I left Ranger a note, grabbed my purse and the keys to his Cayenne SUV.

I drove to the nearest McDonalds and had to walk in since I couldn't speak well enough to be heard by the drive through mic. I handed the counter person a note. He looked rather panicked at first but soon realized it wasn't a hold up.

_Sorry, I have laryngitis so I can't talk. I need 16 extra large fries, 16 egg & cheese mcmuffins, 16 sausage biscuits and 16 Cokes._

The guy looked at me with shock on his face but I just nodded encouragingly. He rang it up and I gave him my debit card. I had to make several trips to the Cayenne to get all the food and drinks loaded up.

Once I got back into the building, I wedged my purse into the doorway of the elevator so it wouldn't close. It took me a couple of trips again to get everything onto the floor of the elevator so I could take it up to five. Once I was on five, I used my purse as a doorstop again and shoved everything out into the floor. Then I played the Hangover Fairy and walked around giving each green guy a Coke and fries. I left the breakfast sandwiches in the breakroom in case anyone recovered enough to need them.

Lester groaned when I brought him his food last. I poked him in the shoulder until he opened his eyes. I waved the fries under his nose until he looked down. He grabbed a handful with a moan and shoved them in his mouth. Then he slurped on his Coke. I pulled up a chair and sat there with him until he started to look semi human again.

He still didn't look capable of conversation so I went back to Bobby and grabbed a big bottle of ibuprofen off his desk. He barely looked up when I walked in. Once he saw it was me, he put his head back down. I shook out two pills and put them in his hand. He popped both into his mouth and swallowed them with the Coke.

I walked around to everyone dispensing the over the counter pain meds. I figured that if they looked this bad, they felt much worse and they could use all the help they could get. Then I handed out bottles of water and I stood over them until they drank at least half the bottle.

By then, a few were starting to look quasi-normal again. So I wrote a note to Cal, who seemed to be the most coherent, although that wasn't saying much this morning. _What the hell did you guys do last night?_

"It was either drink or kill Mick so we drank since you told us not to kill him," he growled softly, his voice far more rumbly than usual. I just kissed him on the forehead, right in the middle of his flaming skull tattoo, and pushed the bottle of water closer to him. He picked it up and drained it and I patted him on the shoulder.

_Spread the word- once you can- that there's more McD in the break room if anyone needs it._

Cal just nodded. Today would be a good day to rob one of RangeMan's accounts since I was pretty sure that none of the guys were capable of watching the monitors closely or responding if an alarm went off somewhere. Oh well, hopefully the bad guys don't know that.

I grabbed a couple of sandwiches, fries and Cokes and took them upstairs to seven with me. Ranger was out of the shower by now, and standing in the kitchen drinking a bottle of water. I sat down the food and pushed it towards him.

"Babe, you could have had one of the guys go get your breakfast."

Oh if only he knew that none of them should be driving. I just shook my head with a wide smile on my face. I grabbed his hand and pulled him over to his computer in his office. I'd used it before and I knew we could watch the video camera feed on it. I pulled up the one of the control room and pointed at him to look. Some of the guys were starting to move around a little, but they were moving very slowly and very deliberately. Les still had his head down on his arms.

"Are they all like that?" Ranger asked in semi-disbelief. I nodded.

We watched as Ram staggered out of the break room with a sandwich in each hand, alternating bites. I giggled lightly and Ranger looked over at me with an almost smile on his face.

"So probably today's not the day to do a readiness inspection?" Ranger asked.

I shook my head no and then grabbed my pad. _Only if you want every single guy to fail!_

"I probably already know the answer to this, but why do all my men have hangovers?"

_Cal said they either had to get drunk or kill the ass and since I wouldn't let them kill him, they had to drink instead._

He growled a little at the thought of Mick.

_You are going to visit Stephanie-ville today. It has a river. It is called De Nile. We are going to complete forget that the asshole even exists until I have my voice back and I can call him nasty names and insult his mama while I whack him with something hard and preferably pointy. My hand would fall off if I had to write everything I want to say to him so he does not currently exist in Stephanie-ville. Got it?_

He started smiling as he read over my shoulder and he was chuckling by the time I wrote the part about insulting Mick's mama. I was overjoyed to hear Ranger's laughter again.

_So we are going to have a lovely day and celebrate the fact that you are back home safe and sound. And if you try to bring up any of this or if, God forbid, you try to blame yourself, I will find something hard and pointy to smack you with instead._

I looked up at him with my eyebrows raises, daring him to disagree. He just nodded, trying, but failing, to pull the grin off his face.

"Can I make a suggestion as to something hard that you can smack around?" he growled.

I flipped him the bird. I'm pretty sure he got the idea because he burst out laughing.

Fine, screw him. Or not. Wait. What?

Oh yeah, he's laughing at me. Nope, not gonna let that happen either. Old Stephanie thought of good lines but was always too afraid to say them. New Stephanie could give as good as she got. I started writing again. _But wouldn't you rather wait until I have my voice back? I thought you loved the sounds I make when I play with your hard-_

That was as far as I got before Ranger ripped the notepad out of my hands with a growl. I giggled and ducked away from him. I ran into the kitchen, putting the kitchen island between us.

"Do you really think the island will save you?" he asked in a low and rumbly voice. The rumbling voice was really doing things to me. Yikes.

I put on my best innocent face, the one that says that I'm the sweetest person imaginable and clearly I am too sweet and naïve to every do anything wrong.

It hadn't worked on my mom since I was six. It didn't work on him either. Damn.

He stalked towards me and I peeked up at him through my eyelashes. I knew that made him slightly crazy and I needed any edge that I could get today.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him gently on the lips. When he started to kiss me back, I pulled away slightly. Ranger has magic powers in addition to his superhero abilities, and I didn't want to get distracted by the thought of playing with anything hard on Ranger. Uh, I think my brain just short-circuited.

I kept the kiss nice and gentle, loving and welcoming rather than do me now, Batman! Thought it was really freaking hard and I'd had a year and a half long dry spell here. I'm pretty sure I qualified as a virgin again. Although no virgin probably ever had the thoughts I was having currently.

Finally Ranger just rested his forehead against mine. "Dios [God], Babe."

I rubbed my hands through his loose hair, gently rubbing his scalp. He loved when I did that. Batman was very tactile. I knew he loved to touch (oh dear God, did he love to touch) but I hadn't known that he also loved to be touched. Since I'd noticed it months ago at my duplex in North Carolina, I'd tried to go out of my way to touch him (in a non-sexual way, although that was becoming increasingly difficult) and notice his reactions. He leaned into my touches. He seemed to calm down a little when I was touching him. He especially loved it if I touched his hair or face.

I dug my nails into his scalp lightly, scratching his head. I'm almost positive that he moaned a little. I pulled back slightly and let my jaw drop. He looked into my eyes and grinned so I started scratching his scalp again. His eyelids dropped. I kept rubbing his scalp until he finally stepped back with a groan.

"How do you always know what I need? Or what my guys need?" Ranger asked.

I just kissed him gently and placed my hand over his heart. I knew what do to because I loved him and because I loved all of the Merry Men. I just happen to love the Merry Men in a different way from how I love Ranger. He reached up and placed one of his hands over my hand with a smile. "You too, Babe."

I walked with Ranger back to the couch and I picked up my notebook. It was only slightly worse for the wear.

_Could you call in contract people to work the office today? Don't think the guys are quite in their usual condition._

He nodded.

_And could I arrange something for this afternoon once the contract people are here? Something to help with their stress and tension?_

"What are you planning, Babe?" asked my suspicious… something. Boyfriend seemed like a ridiculous term since I'm in my thirties. Boyfriend felt very high school. We weren't technically lovers in the traditional sense at the moment but I had high hopes for sometime soon. We weren't engaged or married so those didn't fit. Partner had come to mean the person you did boring surveillance shifts with in my world so that didn't work. Whatever the word, I felt like we were together now.

I just jabbed my finger at the sentence. He looked at me for a moment and then nodded.

_Will you come too?_

"To what?" he was definitely suspicious. Too bad.

_It'll be fun, I promise!_ He shot me a doubting look. _Trust me._

He sighed and nodded. I kissed him on the cheek and stood up.

_I have to go talk to someone about something. Please call in the contract workers for as soon as they can all get here._

I walked out of the apartment and into the elevator. When I got down to five, most of the guys were at least semi-functional. Good. I found Cal and pulled him into Ranger's office.

"Thanks for the food, Angel," he said. "It really helped." I gave him a knowing smile.

_I need your help,_ I wrote.

"Anything, Angel," he replied instantly.

_Since I can't talk, I need you to be my voice today._ He nodded.

_Ranger is calling in contract workers to run the office again today._ Cal looked a little green at the thought that Ranger knew they were all hung over.

_He understands. And he said I could plan a stress relieving group activity. So I need you to make a phone call for me, please._ He nodded. 

_I need to reserve the most challenging room at the laser tag place for all of us._

Cal shot me a disbelieving look. "Angel, we're all soldiers and mercenaries. You really think we need to play laser tag?" The disbelief was evident in his voice.

I just nodded. I absolutely thought the guys needed to play laser tag. Cal groaned slightly so I used the puppy dog eyes. He folded.

"Fine," he sighed.

I stood beside him while he called on speakerphone. We reserved the room from two to four this afternoon. I gave him my credit card when they asked for it for the reservation.

_You can't tell anyone about this. It has to be a surprise._ I wrote. He looked at me and nodded. Cal wasn't exactly a big talker so I thought he'd keep my secret. No way Lester or Bobby could have kept quiet.

I kiss Cal on the head and shooed him out of the office. I pulled out my cell and texted Lula. I was having a pool party at my apartment building today and I needed her help. Could she come by and pick up my credit card and buy lots of beer and snacks? And pick up a shitload of Pino's pizza? Party would start around five pm.

She wanted to know why and I told her I'd explain later. She reluctantly agreed but told me I'd better have a hell of a good story for her. I was pretty sure I did.

Then I knocked on the door to Ella's apartment and handed her my note when she came to the door. I'd need swimming trunks for all of the guys at my apartment by 5 pm. She smiled and promised to have them there.

When I got back to the apartment, Ranger was at his desk making calls. I just waited for him to be done. When he got through, he came and sat down next to me.

"You've got a devious look in your eye. What are you planning?"

I beamed at him. _Can Carlos come out to play?_

Ranger growled slightly. He loved it when I called him Carlos. I didn't do it often, I saved it for special occasions. Like now. He'd always be Ranger to me since that's how I knew him for so long.

I pouted at him until he nodded.

_We're going to all play laser tag and then we're having a pool party at my new apartment!_

"Babe."

I rolled my eyes at him. Stop it with the one-word sentences!

_It's a fun way to get rid of aggression. These guys still got a whole lot of pissed-off stored up and we need to find a way to get it out without anyone going to the hospital. This will be fun!_

He stared at me in shock for a moment. So I gave him a truly devious smile and started writing again, turning my body so he couldn't read over my shoulder.

_We're going to do this, Carlos. It's going to be good._ That's what he'd told me right before our one night together so long ago and I'd been looking for any excuse to turn it back on him. This worked for me.

I handed him the notepad and then backed away quickly. I wanted to be out of arm's reach when he realized what I'd written.

"Babe!" he yelled at me. Yep, he recognized those words. I wasn't sure exactly what kind of reaction I'd get but I hoped for either steamy or amused. I got both, so I ran away and locked myself in his bathroom.

He pounded on the door. "This lock won't save you, Babe!" I was shaking with silent laughter. The look on his face had been priceless. I could hear him laughing so I figured I was (relatively) safe.

All the laughing made me need to take advantage of the facilities, so I did that before peeking out the door. I didn't see him so I tentatively stepped out. I jumped when I felt him grab and I instinctively shrieked. Unfortunately, my throat is still hamburger so trying to scream hurt like hell.

I gasped and grabbed my throat, tears involuntarily streaming down my face. Holy hell but that hurt. Yet another thing to add to my list of reasons why Mick should lose the ability to have children in the future. Not that I needed any more reasons.

Ranger grabbed my shoulders and spun me around. His warm brown eyes were intent on mine. "Babe?" he asked.

I blinked at him a few times to clear the tears from my eyes and then pointed at my throat with a grimace.

He stepped back. "Shit, Babe, I'm sorry. I didn't think. I shouldn't have grabbed you like that. I'm…" I stopped him by putting my hand over his mouth with a glare. I stared at him for a moment and then I moved my hand. He started to talk again so I stuck my hand back over his mouth. I glared some more.

He finally got the idea and stopped trying to talk. I nodded approvingly and wrapped my arms around his neck and leaned my head against his shoulder. Then I kissed him on the cheek and stepped back.

I grabbed his hand and pulled him over to the couch. I grabbed my notepad. _If you try to make this be your fault, I will do something evil to you. I was having fun playing with you._

He smirked at me. "So you like playing with me?" he asked with a leer. I hit him over the head with the notepad and he grinned when I rolled my eyes.

I was finally able to persuade Ranger that my little field trip was what all the guys needed. I could tell that he wasn't 100% convinced but he was going it to humor me. He would go along with it, good enough for me.

Ranger pulled up his email for me and I sent out an email using his name to all of the guys suffering downstairs as well as the others who were there yesterday. The subject line was URGENT: Read now or face Steph's wrath. I figured that would get their attention. I simply told the guys that they should be prepared to leave at 1:30 pm if they were on duty, and that those off today were welcome to come and join my team bonding activity if they liked. We'd meet in the garage.

I texted Tina and she would join us at the laser tag place at 2 pm. She was sworn to secrecy. This should be fun. Tina hadn't met the guys yet since she'd been so busy getting set up at her grandparent's inn and boy but Lester would be surprised. That should help cheer him up. I told her to wear black cargos and a black tee and to put her hair in a pony tail. I wanted us to be dressed alike so it would confuse the slightly hung over guys like it had Ranger. Yep, I'm evil.

I let Ranger work on his computer for a little while before I pulled him away and made him come eat lunch with me. He still looked far too tired and pale. He tried to go back to his computer after we ate but I dragged him to the couch and sat on his lap to prevent him from moving. I cuddled up to his chest and we both relaxed for a while. I fell asleep but the beeping of my cell phone woke me at 1 pm. I'd set it so I wouldn't lose track of time and now I was very glad that I had.

I wiggled off Ranger's lap and threw myself into his bathroom, rushing through a shower. I jumped out and quickly did my makeup and hair and then dressed in black cargo pants and a black RangeMan shirt from Ella's collection.

I walked out of the bathroom to see Ranger dressed all in black watching me from the couch. He had that little half smile on his face and he looked a bit more rested than he had earlier. I walked over and kissed him gently.

I shoved one of Bobby's medicine lollipops in my mouth while I made sure that my notepad and pencil were in my purse. Then I took a dose of the medicine, grimacing at the icky taste. I stuck the medicine and lollipops in my purse and slung it over my shoulder. I grabbed Ranger's hand and pulled him out of the apartment and into the elevator.

When we reached the garage, there were a lot of guys looking around in confusion. A few had on flak vests, guess they wanted to be prepared for anything. Luckily, most of them looked pretty normal by now so I hoped the hangovers were gone. Lester pulled me into a hug. "So what are we doing here, Beautiful?" he asked.

I just gave him a Mona Lisa smile and started writing. _Everyone pile into the SUVs. I'll be the lead car, everyone else should follow us. _

"Where are we going, Bomber?" Tank asked.

I smiled and shook my head. Tank looked at Ranger but I just grabbed Ranger's hand and drug him over to the Porsche. He shook his head slightly and opened the door for me. I slid in and he walked around to get in the driver's seat.

"You sure about this, Babe?" he asked. I just nodded.

I looked back to see the guys piling into SUVs and arguing over who had shotgun. I hoped they would have a good time today.


	82. Chapter 82

_**Chapter 82**_

We pulled into the parking lot of the laser tag place and parked. I could see the guys getting out of the car and most of them looked really confused. Lester looked excited, he'd heard about our laser tag parties. Cal had a smirk on his face.

Tina ran out and we hugged. It had been really hard not seeing her for several weeks when we'd spent almost a year together almost every day.

I could hear the guys behind us. "Holy shit, there's two of them?" one said. "Oh God!" yelled out another. "I must still be drunk," Ram said.

Lester and Ranger burst out laughing at the exclamations coming from the rest of the Merry Men. With us dressed the same and with our hair pulled back in ponytails, we did look eerily alike. Tina and I looked far more alike than my actual sister, St. Valerie, and I did.

Lester ran up and started kissing Tina, drawing catcalls from the guys. I just giggled. Lester finally came up for air. "You should see the two of them in short dresses. It's like a dream come true!" he shouted.

The guys groaned and Ranger growled slightly, making Lester grin more. "It's even better when they sit on each other's lap!" Lester said smugly, tweaking Ranger over his shock the first time he saw the two of us together.

Tina and I were both giggling and Ranger looked like he was ready to strangle Lester. The guys were looking at us with wide eyes. "I'll give you a hundred dollars if you'll sit on her lap right now, Bomber," Bobby called out. I just flipped him the bird.

I started writing in my notebook. _ It would take a lot more than a measly $100, Bobby! Cheapo._ Tina read it out loud for me and started laughing.

I scribbled more and passed it to Tina to read. She imitated a fish for a moment before looking at me. I winked and she started reading in between giggles._ We're going to save the girl on girl stuff for a real special occasion. And Tina usually sits on my lap, not the other way around._

That got lots of groans from the Merry Men. I also got some wide-eyed look from some of the guys who didn't know me as well. They couldn't tell if we were joking or not. I just rolled my eyes.

Ranger and Lester were both laughing at the reaction of the Merry Men. They both look far more relaxed and calmer than they had just an hour ago. It was exactly what I was hoping for when I'd asked Tina to dress like a mini-Ranger. Great!

I poked Lester in the arm and gestured towards the fascinated Merry Men. He looked at me with a question. "Introduce your girl," I mouthed at him and then smacked him on the back of the head. Tina just snorted slightly. She was used to our sibling behavior.

Lester introduced Tina to all the Merry Men. Several came up to shake her hand but most of them still looked slightly dazed. I wasn't sure if it was residual hangover or the resemblance but either way, I found it amusing.

Once Tina met everyone, I started writing on my notepad. I wanted Tina to read my instructions. I figured it would be funny for my words to come out of my twin's mouth.

"Okay, Steph has asked me, well, actually, demanded, that I read some things to you all," Tina said. The guys chuckled.

"You've all met Tina, that's me," she said, "and you should know that she's much better at kicking ass than I am so you should be doubly sure not to piss her off."

"Steph," she said as she turned to me, hands on her hips. "You're going to make these guys think I'm Attila the Hun!"

I rolled my eyes and gestured for her to go on.

"So be nice to her or I will find you and it won't be pretty," Tina read, rolling her eyes as she read it aloud.

"We're here today because you are all my friends, my family, and you all got pretty pissed on my behalf yesterday. So we're going to work off some of that pissiness, my friends. We're going to play laser tag for the next couple of hours and then we'll have a pool party at my brand new apartment," she read.

"At least this way, no one will end up bruised, bleeding or worshiping the porcelain god," she continued, still giggling slightly. "There will be three-person teams, and we'll let you all pick teams. May the best team win!"

The guys all turned to look at me and I simply smiled and then mimed shooting. Lester grinned and took off for the front door. "I'm leading team Alpha!" he shouted. That got the guys going and there was a stampede to the door behind Lester. I could hear them shouting insults at each other but it all seemed to be in good humor.

Ranger just grinned at me slightly and shook his head. "Only you, Babe." I just smiled.

Then I grabbed the notebook out of Tina's hands. _So, Batman, want to join the Bombshell team with me and Tina?_

"Are you serious, Babe? You two want to go up against the guys?" he asked in a skeptical tone.

I glared at him and I didn't need to write a note for Tina to interpret. "We actually kick ass at this game, Manoso. If you don't want to be on our team, I'm sure one of the other gentlemen will be happy to work with us instead."

Tina had come a long way since her first memorable meeting with Ranger, but she still wasn't following him around like a puppy dog. Honestly, it was refreshing. Usually Lula or Connie or even Mary Lou would be trying to get details out of me. Tina just scolded him. It was fun to watch.

Tina and I just stuck our noses in the air and turned on our heels. We'd be a two-person team if necessary and I still bet that we'd take out some of the guys. Ranger caught up with us in a few seconds and stayed on our heels as we walked in to get geared up. He rolled his eyes at the sight of all of his big, bad mercenaries wearing laser tag gear but most of the guys looked excited like massively overgrown little boys.

There was a teenaged girl with a deer in the headlights look on her face watching all these gorgeous, built guys fighting over laser rifles. I knew just how she felt. She glanced over our way and gulped hard when she saw Ranger. I knew how she felt about that too, the man was crazy handsome.

After doing a fish impersonation for a couple of seconds, she finally snapped out of it and climbed to the top of a little platform. She shook her head and then started talking. "Somehow I get the feeling that you don't need instructions on how to aim a gun," she said to much laughter. I have to give her credit for regaining her composure so quickly. "So here are the rules. No fighting, no tripping. You're all wearing vests that will record the number of hits you receive. Once you've had ten shots, your vest will light up and your rifle will turn off. You'll leave and wait out here until that round is over. Since you'll be "dead", you're not allowed to tell anyone how you got shot. Got it? You'll be able to see the results once your time is up. There are emergency beacons set up around the room in case of an emergency. Just hit the button and the lights will come on and someone will come running to help. You're in our most challenging room, which has three levels. We'll be watching in case of trouble. Break the rules and we'll pull you out." She looked again at the guys. "Well, someone will but it won't be me!" I giggled. I liked her.

Then she pressed a button on the little stand and a pair of double doors opened behind her. "You have five minutes to check out the room and then we'll hit the lights and the vests and rifles will go active. Have fun!"

The guys raced into the room like they had to rescue a bunch of hostages. This should be fun. I check my watch and then the three of us ambled into the room. Tina and I immediately headed to one set of stairs to head up to the third floor. We wanted to get our best vantage point. Ranger just followed behind us, sighing softly. Poor Batman. He should just wait and see.

We found a nice spot where we could see the guys racing around below us. Most were wearing darker clothes, as were the three of us. It would help us blend in once the lights went off. Tina found a small alcove where she could squish into it and be almost hidden from sight. She could see a good portion of the area though.

I found a spot close to Tina's position that looked promising. I pushed Ranger into it and stepped back, considering. He just raised one eyebrow at me. It would work. I squeezed in next to him and went up on my tiptoes to whisper in his ears. "You two are the trap. I'm the bait. Just don't shoot me when I get them here!" Then he smiled at me and my breath caught in my throat. I stuck my head out and flashed a thumb's up to Tina. She smiled back and I stepped out.

A few seconds later, the lights went off and I took off, giggling loudly to attract attention. Within a few seconds, I heard footsteps pounding behind me. I kept low to the ground and kept swerving wildly. I could hear cursing behind me. I ran around the corner and flew behind a fake tree. I heard the laser shots within seconds and then "Fuck!" I peeked around the tree and saw Binkie with a lit up vest. He glared at me and then stomped off.

I carefully came out from behind the tree and smiled at Ranger and Tina. I had to sneak around for a little while before I saw Cal and Junior. I started giggling and they chased me again. I pointed my laser rifle over my shoulder and just kept my finger on the trigger as I ran. I felt the vest vibrate once and I knew that I'd been "shot" by one of them. They followed me into the trap and once again, I raced behind the tree and then shimmied up it before I started shooting at them too. Within seconds, both vests were ablaze. I gave them a couple of minutes to leave before I slid down out of the tree. Ranger caught me at the bottom with a big grin on his face.

I looked over his shoulder and saw Tank advancing on us. I jerked Ranger behind the tree and both of us opened up on him. He'd just gotten past Tina's spot when she started firing too. Soon his vest was lit up as well and he stood there with a dumbfounded look on his face as Tina and I giggled. He glared at us and then stomped off.

Tina came out of her hidey hole as per our game plan. We always moved after three ambushes because people would start to get suspicious of all the lit up vests coming from the same area.

I climbed back into the tree and looked around for a moment. I could see a group of guys on the second floor coming towards the stairs. I jumped down and Ranger caught me. I held up three fingers and then made a walking motion with my hands. Then I started cautiously towards the stairs with Tina and Ranger behind me.

They walked away cursing and I giggled silently. I saw movement as Tina stuck her hand out from the tree and held up two fingers. I wiggled my rifle as acknowledgement and she pulled her arm back into the tree. In a few minutes, I saw Lester and Bobby creeping slowly up the stairs. As soon as they were in the middle of our fire zone, we opened up. It only took a couple of shots, they'd already been hit a few times by someone else. Once their vests lit up, I stood up and smiled at the look of shock on their faces. I'm so glad that Tina and I never told Les our hide and wait strategy!

Then I felt my vest vibrate and I threw myself down behind the bush again and started looking for my attacker. I finally spotted Ram partially hidden behind a bush and I jumped up and started scurrying away, Ram hot on my heels. I flung myself behind Tina's tree and waited until he was in view. Then I started firing along with Ranger and Tina. He went down behind the bush I'd been hiding behind. He knew where I was but he didn't know about Tina and Ranger so I'd have to let Ranger sneak up on him.

We waited a few minutes until I heard a curse. Then Ram stood up with his vest lit up and glowered at me. I smiled and he shot me an evil glare before he walked away. I saw Ranger walking out from behind him and I motioned quickly for him to get down. Tina and I opened fire on Zero and got in a couple of shots before he jumped behind the bush. I looked up and caught Tina's eye and nodded. She'd cover me. Then I got down on my hands and knees and crawled away from the tree as quickly as I could go. Ranger was hiding behind a column and I crawled over to him.

"Did he see me?" I asked him very, very quietly. My throat was still sore and I didn't want Zero to hear me. He shook his head yes. "How many hits do you have?" I whispered. He grimaced and held up six fingers. I held up two and his eyes widened.

So I took a deep breath and flung myself out from around the column and started running away. I felt my vest vibrate twice and then I was out of range. I raced down the stairs, looking for any of the guys as I ran but I didn't see anyone else. I ran across the floor and raced up the stairs on the other side of the room. Still no one.

Good thing I'd been running regularly or I'd be on the floor now, panting desperately for breath.

I had snuck back up on Zero and shot him once when his vest lit up and the lights came on. I looked around as Ranger came out from behind the column and Tina climbed out of the tree. Tina started dancing with her rifle over her head and Ranger laughed. I giggled and Zero turned on me in shock. I waved and he groaned.

"And the ladies' team wins!" we heard over the speaker so we started heading back down to the first floor.

The guys were standing there with big grins on their face, watching Tina and I skip around like little kids. Ranger just had a smile on his face. We stopped at the bottom and Tina and I were doing the bump and the guys were laughing at us.

"You girls are EVIL!" Lester said with a mock frown. I tried to look innocent and Tina just laughed.

I pointed at Tina to explain. She rolled her eyes and began. "If you guys are anything like my dad, who was a SEAL," she started and one of the guys, Ram I think, yelled out what sounded like "hoo yah!". Guess he was a Navy guy.

Tina grinned and flashed Ram a thumbs up. "My dad was a SEAL and he taught me to shoot when I was just a little girl. But the way you shoot in laser tag is very different from what I saw my dad and his friends do. Accuracy matters in a raid but not so much in laser tag. You pretty much just have to aim for the upper chest and my dad and his friends usually went for headshots. Steph and I also know that getting something between the shooter and you will usually prevent the shots from registering. So hiding behind trees helps. That's why we were able to beat you – we knew how to play the game. And now that you know what we know, we won't play against you anymore!"

Lester grinned at Tina and flung his arm around her shoulders. "You girls have been holding out on me."

"Yep," Tina said with a giggle as I rolled my eyes.

I made a shooing motion at Lester and the other guys and then I mimed shooting at them. The paused for a minute, and then most of them rushed back into the laser tag room. A few elected to stay in the arcade area to play video games or skee ball.

Ranger wrapped one arm around my shoulders and pulled me close to him. I snuggled into his side with a contented sigh.

Tina looked at Ranger. "So you gonna tell me where this guy is so I can make him regret being born?" she asked. Ranger grinned slightly at the bloodthirsty tone in Tina's voice. I rolled my eyes at both of them before putting my finger to my lips in the classic shush position.

Tina put one hand on her hip and glared at me. I snuggled into Ranger's chest more comfortably and glared back. After a few minutes of mutual glaring, when I could feel Ranger's chest shaking in silent laughter, Tina finally grinned at me and shook her head. I could finally give into the smile that I'd been trying so hard to keep off my face as I grinned widely at her.

I shooed Tina away too and she went off to play the Dance, Dance Revolution game. I pulled Ranger over to an alcove where I suspect parents usually sat as they watched their kids play. Close enough, sometimes the guys acted like little kids.

I sat down next to Ranger and leaned against him. I couldn't see his face but I was pretty sure he was smiling.

"Only you, Babe," he whispered against my hair and I grinned. He shouldn't doubt me, I know my Merry Men and I knew they would like this little field trip.

Ranger and I cuddled for a while, laughing at the antics of the guys. We watched the guys playing laser tag on the television screens, and it was fun to watch the guys ambush each other. They were jumping around and acting pretty crazy, and I'm pretty sure Ranger would fire any of the guys who acted like that in a real raid. Or kill them. If acting silly like they were now didn't get them killed first.

Once Les gave up on laser tag, he and Tina bickered playfully, amusing everyone to see Lester be firmly put in his place.

I sent Ranger off to play a shooting game with Lester, which did not end well for Lester. Ranger beat him by like a bazillion points. Ranger smirked and Lester whined. All was right in my world.

After a couple of hours, Ranger gathered the guys back together to head to my apartment for the pool party. Well, to be honest, he tried. It was a little like herding kittens, really, since many of the guys were easily distracted by various games as they walked through the building. You know the dog in 'Up' that gets easily distracted by a squirrel? Think of big, brawny Special Forces guy with that kind of attention span at the moment and you'll see what we were dealing with here. I was vastly amused, Ranger less so.

Finally, Ranger snapped and went into military commander mode and started barking out orders. That got the guys rushing around in barely controlled chaos and we were loading the SUVs within minutes. Poor Ranger, he's had a rough couple of weeks and he just reached the end of his patience with the guys wandering off to play skee ball or the old Nintendo Duck Hunt arcade game.

When we got to my complex, Lula, Connie and Ella had the food set up. Lula had found the biggest stereo I've ever seen and had songs blaring. There was a huge stack of pizzas and more snacks than I've ever seen outside of a Superbowl game.

The guys jumped from the SUVs and descended upon the food. Ella started whacking grasping hands with a big spatula and the guys looked like little boys being scolded as she lectured them on dining manners, her spatula flying around like a conductor's baton for emphasis. Once she felt they were appropriately contrite, she sent them up to my apartment to change into the swim trunks she'd bought for them.

They rushed up to my apartment and Ranger and I ambled along behind them. Most of the guys took off up the stairs, but I have more sense than that and waited on the elevator. Ranger pulled me into his arms as soon as the elevator doors closed and gave me a passionate kiss. I was panting slightly by the time the doors dinged open but he looked his usual calm and unflappable self. Huh. So not fair. I mentally promised to make him lose control and soon.

My apartment door was standing slightly open even though I know that none of the guys have a key yet. So much for my super security, I guess. One of them must have picked my lock.

We wandered in and the room was full of chaos and semi-naked Merry Men. I shrieked, turned around and closed my eyes. Ranger laughed at me and I glared at him before putting my hands over my eyes. The guys are all hot but I think of most of them as little brothers, so I didn't want to see their junk.

I stood just inside the front door and kept my eyes firmly closed. Ranger picked me up and I shrieked again, my eyes popping open in surprise as I clutched at his neck. He started carrying me towards my bedroom and I snapped my eyes back shut as I saw Cal's bare ass as he stripped off his cargos. Just an FYI, the tattoo on his head isn't the only one he has. And I'm not saying anything more.

I need brain bleach.

Ranger muscled his way through the mass of naked bodies (whew!) and walked into my bedroom. Since my eyes were still clenched shut, I don't know who got ordered out of my bedroom. Whoever they were, they complied quickly and Ranger sat me gently on the bed. I kept my eyes closed until I heard the door close. I tentatively opened my eyes and glanced around my bedroom, just to make sure there were no more naked Merry Men waiting to jump out at me.

"Babe," Ranger said as I looked around cautiously. "They're all gone now."

"Good," I croaked. "There are just some things a girl shouldn't see."

Ranger had the thinking about smiling smile on his face. He squatted down in front of me and took hold of my hands. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

I smiled at him. "Good. How are you?" I squeaked, my voice still not fully functional.

"Better now that I know you're okay."

I grinned at him and he smiled back. His smile almost took my breath away. I'd missed it. He gave me a knowing look and his smile widened to the full-on, make women walk into walls Ranger smile. Damn ESP.

I gave him a smile on my own before pulling my hands out of his. Then I leaned forward, framed his face with my hands and gave him a hard kiss. I traced the shape and contours of his lips with the barest touch from the tip of my tongue. I was rewarded with a small gasp of surprise from Ranger and I smiled triumphantly, my lips still against his.

When he tried to take control of the kiss to make it deeper, I pulled back. He instantly stopped and I started kissing him again. He tried to take control again and I pulled away again. He learned and he settled in to let me be in the driver's seat.

Several long moments later, I pulled away with a sigh and was thrilled to see Ranger's eyes slightly dilated and his breathing was jagged like my own. Success. I smiled at him and stood, towering over him since he was still squatting down in front of my bed. I trailed one hand across his shoulders as I sauntered over to my closet and started looking for a bathing suit.

I found a new one in there, must have been from Ella. I smiled slowly, an evil grin that would have made Ranger wary if he saw it. It was perfect.

I closed the closet door and quickly shed my clothes before pulling on the bikini. It was a pale beige-pink, just a shade or two off from my own skin tone. And since Victoria's Secret designed it, it looked like underwear. At first glance from a distance, it would look like I was nude. It also had built in shaping so it made the girls look good. I wrapped an electric blue sarong around my waist and found a pair of flip-flops for my feet.

I walked out of the walk-in closet and found Ranger already dressed in only a pair of black board shorts that hung low on his hips. I had to mentally snap myself out of it before I started drooling. Ranger wasn't looking at my face at all, his attention was focused somewhat south of my face. Yeah, you can figure that out.

I sauntered over to him, putting as much swing into my hips as I could without looking ridiculous. His eyes were riveted on my chest. I stopped in front of him and he gradually raised his gaze to meet my amused eyes.

"See something you like?" I asked, aiming for a flirtatious tone but landing closer to squeaky growl due to my sore throat.

Ranger had the thinking about smiling smile on his face and I grinned at him.

"Do you like it? It's new. Ella must have left it for me," I told him as I spun around in a circle so he could get the full view. It was actually cut pretty modestly on the bottom, with high cut legs but generous coverage of my rear. It made my legs look longer so I was happy. The top was slightly less modest but overall it was a fairly conservative swimsuit as far as bikinis go. The shock effect was that the color was so close to my skin tone that I'd look naked from more than a dozen feet away.

"You're not planning on wear that, are you?" he asked with a slight frown.

I frowned at him. "Why not? It covers more of me than most of the other bikinis I have."

"You look naked!"

"But I'm not really naked."

"Babe."

Eye roll. "Ranger."

I grabbed his hand and pulled him out behind me. We took the elevator down and the pool party was in full swing. They guys had started a game of water volleyball and they were leaping up and down in the pool like dolphins. It was actually very fun to watch, at least for the ladies in the crowd. Lula and Connie's jaws had dropped. Ella was just amused by her boys. Unfortunately, Tina had to work tonight and hadn't been able to come party with us.

I meandered over to food table. Lula and Connie were there and they demanded to know the story. I squeaked out what I could and Ranger filled in the blanks. By the end of the story, they were both livid. Connie offered to call in the Family, yes, with a capital F, to deal with Mick. Lula was threatening to bust a cap up his ass. I thanked them both but declined. Mick was probably close to having a heart attack by now, being kept incommunicado in one of the holding cells.

We spent the rest of the night playing in the pool and stuffing ourselves. Well, except for Ranger who followed his ridiculous eat healthy rule. And me, who wasn't allowed to eat the pizza, even though I desperately wanted to give it a shot. Bobby vetoed it so I gorged myself on ice cream instead. Everyone else stuffed themselves on pizza, Ella's snacks and desserts and copious quantities of beer and soda. I figured Ranger would have the guys doing extra workouts for a week to make up for it, but hopefully it was worth it.

I was a bit cranky that Bobby also wouldn't let me have any beer. He was afraid it might react poorly with the medicine so I had to stick to water and soda. It was my own freaking party and I couldn't even enjoy the food and drinks! Spoilsport. But Ranger, of course, kept an eagle eye on me and never even let me wander close to the pizza table.

Guys started leaving around ten pm, which is coincidentally also when we ran out of pizza. I guess I can tell who's the main attraction at my parties. Here's a hint: it wasn't my dazzling personality.

Ranger shooed everyone remaining away at midnight, when I was starting to visibly droop. I was fighting to keep my eyes open and staying vertical became more and more of a challenge as there were more deck chairs available for me to be horizontal. I think Ranger realized he was fighting a losing battle so he just calmly turned off Lula's ginormous stereo and thanked everyone for coming.

I was awake to notice that Cal left with Connie. Hmmm.

I really don't know what happened next. Apparently my body had decided it was bedtime and it didn't really care that I was at a party, even if it was my party. Lula later told me that I curled up on a deck chair despite Ranger's urging to go to my apartment, flipped him off when he tried to wake me up and then went to sleep while Lula broke down the giant stereo, with Tank's help, and Ella straightened up. Of course, Ella had been making sure that the guys put all of their stuff in the appropriate pile for trash or recycling all night, so it didn't take long.


	83. Chapter 83

_**Chapter 83**_

I woke up in my bed wrapped around Ranger. He didn't seem to object.

"Hi," I squeaked once I realized where I was and with whom.

I got the almost smile. "Morning, Babe."

"I didn't kick you this time!"

That got a full grin. "I appreciate your restraint."

I just grinned and snuggled down against his chest. I peeked over at the clock and was shocked to see that it was already after nine am. Usually Ranger's run thirty-seven miles and invaded at least one third world country by this time, so for him to still be in bed without aerobic activity of another sort being involved was surprising.

"Why are you still here?" I rasped, my throat feeling better but making me sound like I'd had a two-pack a day habit for twenty years.

He shot me a slightly confused look.

"This late, nine in the morning. Usually you've saved a couple of dozen orphans and an old lady by this time of the day."

"Babe."

"Ranger."

Sigh. "Guess I'm still a little tired too. And I liked laying here holding you," he replied.

Aww, he's so sweet. I can never tell him that or I'll wake up in Libya some morning, but it's true. He's a sweetie pie. That nickname would probably get me shot at dawn, so I'll keep that private too.

"Not that I was objecting. Just curious," I said, just in case he took it the wrong way.

I sat up and gave him a good morning kiss, which quickly became steamy. It was a good morning alright.

But Mother Nature was making her needs known, and, for the moment at least, her needs were more important than those of my hormones, much to the Hungarian hormones vast dismay. I rolled out of bed and staggered to the bathroom, my legs still rubbery from sleep. And Ranger's kisses.

I took care of my needs and then headed back to towards the bedroom and the warm, rumpled Ranger who I hoped was still snug as a bug in a rug in my bed.

Then I saw a shadow moving behind me and I screamed.

I heard Ranger's feet him the floor at the same time I heard his gun's safety click off. "Babe," he yelled as he crashed out of the room with his gun at the ready. "What's wrong?"

I simply stood there and tried to keep my heart from literally jumping out of my chest. I just pointed, my mouth too dry from fear to work.

"Bombshell, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you!" Bobby apologized. He'd stepped through the front door just as I stepped out of the bathroom, and he'd scared the pee out of me. Guess it was a damn good thing that he'd scared me on the way out of the bathroom rather than the way in or he'd be paying for Stanley Steemer to clean my carpet.

"Brown!" Ranger growled as he clicked the safety back on. He shot a dirty look at Bobby and scooped me up in his arms and carried me back into the bedroom, kicking the door shut behind us.

I'm sure my eyes were gigantic and my pulse was still going a mile a minute. I have this super deluxe security package, but I keep finding people in my apartment. What the hell?

I turned to Ranger. "What's the point in having a security system if I still have people show up in my living room unexpectedly?"

He just growled and pulled me closer. His heart was still racing too.

A few minutes later, there was a tentative knock on the door.

"Enter," Ranger growled.

Bobby poked his head in. "I wanted to check on Bomber and I need to talk to Ranger right away."

"Can't it wait?" Ranger asked. I guess he liked snuggling with me as much as I did.

"No, sorry. It can't. I need to talk to you now."

I heard Ranger whispering in Spanish under his breath and I was pretty sure it wasn't very complimentary to Bobby's mother.

I stayed where I was, warm and content in my little cocoon. I heard the door open and close and then there was a muted conversation that I couldn't hear.

I heard Ranger just fine though when he bellowed. "He did what?" he roared.

I jumped out of bed and raced into the living room in time to see Ranger glaring at Bobby with an implacable expression of hatred on his face.

"What happened?" I asked.

Ranger turned to me and his expression was still so malevolent that it almost scared me and I'm in love with the guy. Then his expression softened just a tad as he held out a hand to me. I walked over and took his hand and he pulled me against his side. He seemed to calm slightly at the contact.

"Start over," Ranger ordered Bobby.

"Well, it seems one of the new contract guys last night didn't realize we had the asshole in lock up for a reason, and the ass convinced the new guy to let him go."

"What?" I shrieked, wincing as it made my throat hurt.

Ranger growled in agreement.

Bobby grimaced. "We didn't go to check on him until this morning and he was gone. We finally found out what happened after checking the video logs and talking with the new guy who'd let him out. So the ass has been gone about fourteen or so hours now and he could be most anywhere by now."

"If he's got the sense God gave a goose, he'll never come back to New Jersey," I opined. Ranger growled again.

Bobby still looked tense and Ranger still looked ready to spit bullets.

Without really thinking about it, I started rubbing Ranger's scalp, digging my fingers through his silky, smooth hair. Gradually, the overwhelming rage seemed to drain out of him as he looked over at me and gave me a small, soft smile. I smiled back and went up on my tiptoes to press a gentle kiss against his lips.

"Feeling better now?" I whispered into his ear as I hugged him tightly. I felt him nod slightly, so slight it was almost imperceptible.

I sank back down onto my heels and turned to pull him towards the couch. I caught Bobby's eye on the way and he looked downright stunned and more than a little intrigued at the fact that I'd calmed the savage beast that had been fighting to get out, find Mick and rip him apart. I shot him a quick glare. If Bobby wanted to keep his balls attached, he should keep his damn mouth shut.

His face went blank in a heartbeat and I knew he'd gotten the message. I'm getting better at this whole non-verbal communication thing, I guess.

I sat down and pulled Ranger down with me, not letting go of his hand. I had a feeling that he was still hanging by a tenuous thread and I wanted to keep him close. He sat down next to me and I snuggled up to his side. Bobby sat on the other end of the large sectional.

"So options?" I asked Bobby.

He shrugged slightly. "We've got half the crew out beating the bushes, calling up contacts, generally ripping Trenton apart to find him. We've got alerts on everything, money, phone, email, anything you can think of. We're doing anything and everything we can think of to find him."

"Alright. I'll come in and start digging into his background, see if anything sets off my Spidey senses. Then you can do what he does best, which is find people who don't want to be found, but I want a promise that you will not kill him unless your life or a Merry Man's or something like that is in danger," I said as I turned back to Ranger. "Okay?"

His face was a stony mask but I'd gotten to be able to read him enough to see the simmering rage still in his eyes. "Babe."

"Don't you 'Babe' me, Ranger Manoso. You're a man of honor and a man of your word. So I want your promise on this."

He glared at me in silence.

I turned to look at Bobby. His blank face was slipping and I could see the curiosity peeking through. "Bobby, go get breakfast."

He blinked at me. "What?"

"Go get breakfast. Buy me something yummy and him something healthy. Don't come back until I text you. Got it?" I said.

Bobby looked at Ranger for approval. "Don't look at him, look at me. This is my home. This is my asshole son of a bitch who's running lose. You look at me," I said forcefully. "Not him."

Bobby gaped at me for a second, shock clearly written on his face. I allowed myself to enjoy his fish-faced surprise for only a second. "Go," I ordered unequivocally.

Bobby snapped to attention, there's really no other way to describe it. He stood up like he was shot out of a cannon, his back rigid and I think he just caught himself in time to stop his arm from moving to salute. I felt damn proud of myself for being able to make him jump like that, so I smiled at him. He returned my smile before quietly slipping from the apartment, pausing briefly to reset the security alarm as he left.

As soon as the door closed with a quiet click, I turned to Ranger. His blank face had slipped too and he looked torn between amusement and anger. I was really hoping he'd come down on the amusement side but I was prepared for anger too.

He started to speak and I held up my hand to preclude it. "First, I need my medicine and coffee. Then we'll hash this out. Okay?"

He gazed at me for a second before nodding reluctantly. I stood and went into the kitchen, filling the coffee maker and letting it brew its delightful, clarity-giving wonder drink before searching for my purse. I finally found my purse in the bedroom and pulled the magic lollipops and liquid medication out. I popped the sucker in my mouth while I went into the bathroom and brushed my wild bedhead hair back into a ponytail. I took the medicine and then washed my face before heading back out to have an epic fight with Ranger.

I poured us each a cup of coffee, adding liberal milk and sugar to mine until it almost perfectly matched Ranger's skin tone. I left his black, as he liked it.

I handed him his cup and we both sipped for a moment. Then I turned to look at him. "Babe," he started.

I held up a hand and he looked annoyed. I took both cups and sat them on the coffee table before turning back to Ranger. I leaned against him and kissed him thoroughly before pulling back. We were both breathing a little bit heavier by the time I eased off his lap. I'm not entirely sure how I'd ended up on his lap, but I figured it was just part of his superhero abilities.

"That was what I'd planned to do before Bobby scared the crap out of me, so I wanted to be sure to do it now in case we kill each other later," I told him as I leaned back against the cushion and tried to smooth out my breathing.

I got the thinking about smiling smile from Ranger and I forced myself to be content with that. I closed my eyes for a second, took a deep breath and then nodded at him to speak.

"Babe, you can't ask me to make that promise," he started. "The son of a bitch is a danger and I can't allow him to threaten you." His tone had gone from completely rational to a menacing growl by the time he finished.

"Okay, first the ground rules. I want to talk to Carlos," I said. He looked confused.

"Ranger's the street persona, the badass soldier who kicks ass and takes names. Carlos is the man behind that. I want Carlos," I explained.

He stared at me for a second. "Babe, I'm not two different people. It's just me."

"No," I said as I leaned forward to grab his hand. "I'm not saying you've got multiple personalities. Just that we all have different parts of ourselves that come out at different times. It's just that for right now, while it's just you and me, I want to talk to Carlos."

"I don't know how to do that," he said softly. I could see the struggle behind his eyes.

"Just talk to me as the man, not the mercenary," I said just as softly.

He stared at me for a long time before letting out a soft sigh. I smiled at him, excited, happy and relieved that he trusted me enough to let down the Special Forces mask. It was weird, but just knowing that even in the middle of what I knew he considered a crisis he would still take the time to talk to me when I asked made me feel like maybe a real relationship with him could work.

To reward him, I leaned forward and kissed his again, softly. "Thank you," I whispered as his arms came up around me.

I tucked my head against his neck for a moment, breathing in his Bulgari and Ranger scent that never failed to make me feel comforted. "And I love you."

"I love you too, Babe," he said into my hair as he kissed the top of my head. "But we do need to talk about this."

I pulled back very reluctantly. "I know. Damn asshole keeps ruining my day even when he's not here."

"He has to be taken down," Ranger, or should I say Carlos, said. "It's not safe otherwise."

"Why not? If he has any sense of self-preservation at all, he'll never be in New Jersey ever again. So he's not really a threat to me then, is he?"

"As long as he's alive, he's a threat," he replied. "Bastard was fucking dumb enough to try to assault you in the breakroom in the middle of the day with twenty heavily armed and highly trained men who love you almost as much as I do around. So I'm not putting much stock in his intelligence."

Put that way, yeah, Mick did sound like a rip-roaring idiot. "But now that he's been disabused of the idea that I'm fair game, do you really think he'd risk the guys or, God forbid, you finding him? God only knows what happened after you took me to Bobby's medical room, but he was in pretty damn bad shape before I left. He can't possibly imagine that he won't have the same thing happen if he comes around me again."

"I can't take that risk with your safety," Ranger argued.

"Why not? It's a risk for you to go looking for him. He has to know that it won't end well for him if you guys find him so God only knows what lengths he'll go to just to keep from getting beaten or worse again. So it's probably more dangerous for you and your Merry Men looking for him than me sitting here in my super duper security apartment."

"Babe, I just can't take that risk. I'll accept the risk to me. And I'll have only volunteers out looking, but every one of those guys will volunteer, I guarantee it. They love you too. They just better love you in a very different way from how I love you or Mick won't be the only one getting his ass beat," he muttered. "But I can't risk you being hurt or worse again."

"And if decides to go all kamikaze rather than go back into the holding cell? What them? How the hell am I supposed to live knowing you got hurt or worse because of me?"

"It wouldn't be because of you, it would be because of him. And people a hell of a lot stronger and smarter than him haven't managed to take me down yet, so I'm not too worried," he replied.

"Don't get too cocky. Pride goeth before a fall and all that. He doesn't have to be smart or strong, just willing to die to take you with him. It's what the terrorists have been doing for years and it's been so damn effective because it doesn't take any special smarts or skills, just a willingness to die," I warned.

He looked surprised. "I had a lot of time to read and think in North Carolina. As a military kid, Tina was always watching stuff on the war on terror. And with all the soldiers who came up for weekends, I was able to talk to a bunch of people who'd been there," I explained.

He nodded. "I'll accept that risk if it means keeping you safe."

"I won't accept that risk. Not the danger to you or the danger to your conscience," I said firmly.

"Babe, there's already so much on my conscience that this punk wouldn't make any kind of impact."

I was implacable. "You've already got Abruzzi on your conscience and I won't be responsible for anything more. I love you too much for that."

"Babe," he started before growing quiet. I simply let him think.

"I've done enough bad shit that it doesn't matter," he finally said.

"It does too. You're a good person, a good man. You've done some bad shit but not out of malice or vindictiveness or anything like that. Just because you were ordered to by the government or because you had to. But Mick isn't an overt threat, not to either of us. If he becomes one, that's different. But right now, it would be just about revenge and I don't want that for you. For us," I said. Then I brought out my big guns. "Please."

"I don't think anyone else still thinks I'm a good man," he said and he somehow looked a little sad.

"That's because not everyone has had the privilege of getting to know you like I have. They only see Ranger, not Carlos," I said softly. "And you're the best man I know beside my dad."

He blinked at me for a second. "I can't risk you, Babe. I can't risk losing you. Now that I've let you in, I can't imagine you not being with me. I don't think I could handle it if something happened to you," he admitted and I could tell it was hard for him to admit.

"And I feel exactly the same way," I replied as I squeezed his hand. "I couldn't handle it if something happened to you trying to pick him up. I don't think I could survive that with my sanity intact."

"So what do we do then?" he asked.

"We try to find him but we let the cops bring him in. With the video and everything, it should be a pretty tight case of assault, right? So once we know where he is, we let the cops take him in. But you will not devote all your time and resources to finding someone who is probably in Tahiti by now with no plans to ever so much as think about New Jersey again," I said. "He wins if he disrupts our lives or if he costs you business."

"Business means nothing compared to you."

"That means a lot. Thanks. But I know how much you've put into RangeMan, and if you think I'm going to let you forget that, you've got another thought coming."

His lips quirked slightly at the vehemence in my voice. "Afraid I wouldn't be able to afford new cars for you anymore?"

I smacked him with a pillow and he had a slight grin on his face. "You know I don't give a damn about money. As long as I've got a roof and food, I'm good."

He shook his head slightly. "I know. And that's something I love about you. You're not after me for my money."

I sent him a not so fake leer. "No, it's mostly your body."

He burst out laughing, which made me grin. "Considering you've yet to take advantage of my body, I don't think that's all of it."

I nuzzled his neck. "No, it's also your mind, your heart, your personality, even your shower gel," I said as I breathed in the scent of said shower gel. "But I hope to take advantage of your body too."

"Anytime you want it, it's yours," he whispered against my ear as he nibbled on my earlobe. I suppressed a shiver of desire.

"I'll keep that in mind," I promised. I drew back reluctantly. "So we'll go in and try to find him. If we can't find him within a reasonable time frame, then we'll assume he's left the area. Alright?"

He nodded, but his jaw was clenched and I knew he didn't like it. But I liked the idea of Ranger devoting his life to finding the asshole even less than the idea of Mick going free.

I hugged him to me for a few more minutes before I reluctantly grabbed my phone to text Bobby to come back up now. A few minutes later, Ranger was relaxed back against the sofa and I was leaning back against him when I suddenly sat up with a start. Ranger jumped slightly.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

I looked at my legs. My bare legs. "I'm not wearing any pants!"

Ranger's lips quirked. "So?"

"So Bobby's already seen more of me than anyone but my gynecologist! How could you let me go running around in front of him in no freaking pants?" I all but shrieked as I ran into the bedroom to put on real clothes rather than lolling about in nothing but Ranger's tee shirt and my panties.

Ranger growled at the idea of Bobby seeing so much but I was already in the other room by the time I heard it. I decided not to bother to roll my eyes since it would be wasted since he wouldn't see it.

A minute later, I came out wearing cuddly pink lounge pants and a grey tee shirt.

Bobby walked into the apartment a few minutes later. He didn't bother knocking, he just let himself in and turned off my alarm. "What the hell?" I asked. "Why do I even bother with turning the damn alarm on?"

It was a rhetorical question.

Bobby handed over two paper bags from McDonalds. Just like Pavlov's dogs, the mere sight of the bag was enough to trigger my mouth watering. I greedily tore into the bag and grinned when I found a McGriddle. Bobby winked at me and I smiled in return.

Ranger found a container of yogurt and granola and a bag of pre-sliced apples.

Yeah, my breakfast was totally better.

Bobby checked my throat and said I should be back to normal by tomorrow or the next day. It was still pink and somewhat inflamed, but it didn't hurt nearly as badly as it had. I sounded like I'd been a lifelong smoker, despite the fact that I'd never smoked, but Bobby assured me that would go away in a few days.

Bobby left after poking and prodding me and I slipped into the shower. I dried off and wrapped myself in my robe as I started my daily beauty ritual.

Ranger walked in, stripped off his itty, bitty black boxers and climbed into my shower. It took me a good minute to wrestle my lust back under control. And this being Ranger we're talking about, he was out of the shower just a minute later and it took every single drop of willpower in me to not tackle him as he stepped out, water droplets glistening as they ran down the muscled channels of his mocha chest and abs. His hair was slicked back from the water, giving him an even more exotic appearance.

I watched with avid interest as one droplet slid down his chest, over his abs and down one muscled thigh.

"Babe," he said with amusement and perhaps a little bit of desire.

I gave him a Mona Lisa smile and turned back to do my makeup. It took a lot of effort but I was able to keep my eyes mostly on myself in the mirror, but holy frankfurters it was hard. I almost stabbed myself in the eye with my mascara wand when Ranger bent over to dry off his legs.

He looked up and grinned. He knew exactly what he was doing. Bastard. Fine, I'll show you.

I quickly finished my makeup and took my hair out of the haphazard ponytail I'd stuck it in before hopping in the shower. I brushed it out and worked in some anti-frizz gel before simply shrugging out of my robe and strolling out of the bathroom completely au natural.

I heard a strangled gasp as Ranger realized what I was wearing, or rather what I wasn't wearing. I walked nonchalantly over to my dresser and pulled out the skimpiest, laciest underwear I could find. The panties were barely more than tied together dental floss and the matching blush lace bra was designed to make the girls very perky and enticing.

I languidly slid on my underwear, aware that Ranger was watching, leaning still naked against the door jam. I took a quick peek and realized instantly that I'd aroused his curiosity. Among other things.

I turned and smiled mysteriously over my shoulder as I walked towards the closet in search of jeans and a shirt. I'd gone about three steps before I was yanked backwards against his delightfully damp chest. His chest rumbled in satisfaction as his hands went to my lace-covered breasts as one hard thigh slid between my legs.

I was breathing in gasps at the sensations and trust me when I say that breathing was not the only hard thing on Ranger.

He was kissing my neck, pressed so tightly against me that an oxygen molecule couldn't even get between us when his cell phone rang. We both froze, which was impressive since I was almost positive I was on fire two seconds earlier. I recognized the ring tone. Tank.

I blew out a soft sigh as I pulled away, trying again to make it to the closet to find clothes. This time Ranger let me, but I could feel the frustration and disappointment rolling off of him. I agreed.

If we ever found Mick, he was in deep shit.

_**Author's note**_: _Thanks to all of you for reading and reviewing! It is such a wonderful feeling to read a review and know that you took the time to tell me what you thought. I truly appreciate all reviews. Keep it up, I love reading them!_


	84. Chapter 84

_**Chapter 84**_

When I reemerged fully dressed in my mini-Ranger outfit, Ranger was also dressed in his usual black cargos and tight tee shirt. I managed to keep my tongue in my mouth when it really wanted to be in his mouth, but his face and body language told me that he'd shifted into mercenary Ranger and Carlos was locked away again. Pity, I'd rather liked him.

"What did Tank say?" I asked as plopped down on the bed to pull on my socks and Nikes.

"No leads yet," he replied succinctly.

Great, it was back to monosyllabic answers. I was rethinking the whole don't kill Mick thing.

"And?" I prodded.

He raised one eyebrow at me but didn't respond verbally.

Yeah, maybe Ranger had made a good enough argument after all. Mick was going down.

I sighed. "Okay, let's go, Mr. Chatterbox," I said as I grabbed my purse and jacket.

Ranger drove us back to RangeMan in silence, slipping into his zone as I call it. He waited for me to walk into the elevator and then pressed the button for five. As soon as I walked out, Lester pounced on me, pulling me into a hug. Ranger growled slightly but Les and I both ignored him.

"Hey, Beautiful," Les said. "We're doing everything we can to find the bastard."

I hugged him back. "I know. Just one of those things, I guess." I looked around. "Is the contract guy who let him go still here?"

"Yeah, he's in one of the other holding rooms," Lester said.

I stuck my hands on my hips and glared. "Why the hell are you treating him like a prisoner? He made a mistake, a crappy one, but it was just a mistake, right?" I said. Lester shot a look at Ranger and kept his mouth shut.

I sighed and turned to Ranger. "Let him out and then I want to chat with him in a conference room or something less Gitmo-like, please," I said. Ranger glared slightly at me and I just glared back.

Ranger eyes narrowed at me so I raised my eyebrows. After a moment, he nodded curtly and then strode to the stairs, presumably going to fetch the contract worker for me. I turned back to Lester, who had a big grin on his face. He wrapped an arm around my neck and dragged me over to his office.

Five minutes later, my cell phone beeped to tell me I had a text message. It was from Ranger, letting me know that he was bringing the contract guy upstairs to the conference room. I grabbed a couple of sandwiches from the fridge and several bottles of water. I stuck them on the center of the table and waited for Ranger to arrive with the contract worker.

They walked in a few minutes later. The contract worker was good looking and built, as are all the RangeMan employees, so I assumed it was a job requirement. He was in his mid-twenties with sandy brown hair and light brown eyes that were wide with near terror. He kept shooting apprehensive looks at Ranger.

"Hey," I said as I stood up. "I'm Stephanie."

He shook my hand. "Marcus."

"Nice to meet you, Marcus. Sorry it's under crappy circumstances," I said and he grimaced again, shooting a quick look at the impassive Ranger hovering nearby. "Sandwich?" I asked as I gestured towards the plate.

After a quick glance at Ranger, he nodded and devoured two sandwiches before draining an entire bottle of water. I turned to Ranger. "For heaven's sake, did you guys try to starve him or something?"

Ranger's blank face was on and he didn't answer so I turned back to Marcus. "I'm sorry about that. The guys are a little overprotective of me."

He just nodded as he ate a third sandwich more slowly. "Do you need anything else?" I asked him. "Coffee, bathroom break, anything like that?"

He shook his head. "No, thank you, ma'am. Just a bit hungry and thirsty, but I'm fine now."

I nodded. "Alright. So I just wanted to ask you to tell me what happened with the asshole, er, Mick, last night."

Marcus nodded once. "Sure. I was making rounds of the building when he pecked on the window and called me over. I opened the door and asked him what the hell he was doing locked up. He said that he'd gone out drinking with some of the guys the night before and he remembered getting into a fight with a bunch of dudes at the bar. He sure looked like he'd had the shit beat out of him. Then he said he figured that the guys had stuck him in a holding room since he didn't have an apartment in the building yet and he was probably too drunk to tell them where he lived. Then he thanked me for letting him out and walked away. I hadn't been told anything about what happened so I had no reason to doubt his story. But I'm really sorry I let him go, I'd have been happy to get in a few punches of my own once Santos told me what happened. Asshole has no right to treat any lady like that."

I patted his hand consolingly. "It's okay. You didn't know, you couldn't have known."

He smiled slightly. "Thank you, ma'am."

I smiled back. "My name is Stephanie or Steph. Ma'am makes me feel ridiculously old."

I got a real smile from him. "Force of habit," he said. "But thank you for understanding, Stephanie. And I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Did he say anything about where he was going once he left?"

"No, ma'am," he said and I glared slightly at him. "Stephanie," he corrected with a small grin.

"Do you know anything about him outside of work?"

"No, I'd only ever really spoken to him a few times before, and that was always work related. I knew he was in the Air Force but that's about all I knew about it," he said. He paused for a minute, looking thoughtful. "But now that I think about it, I think he and one of the other contract guys, Sam, I think, seemed pretty tight. Sam might have a better idea of where the fucker would go."

Ranger stood without a word and strode out of the room, probably to go find Sam. I shook my head slightly. "He's not much of a talker," I explained.

Marcus grinned slightly. "So I've heard. I know I'm fired after this and that's okay, but I wanted you to know how sorry I am for what happened and that I let the bastard go. If I'd have known what happened, he would have rotted in that room before I'd have even said one word to him."

"Thanks," I said. "I'll try to convince Ranger not to fire you but I wouldn't hold your breath. He's pretty hard to sway once he has his mind made up."

Marcus just nodded. "Don't worry about me, I fucked up and I accept the consequences. That's just how it is, how it should be."

I asked Marcus about his military experiences and he was telling me about his time in the Navy when Ranger came back into the room. Marcus snapped to attention as he stood to face Ranger.

"You can go," Ranger said to him dismissively.

"Yes, sir," Marcus said. "Just wanted to say again how sorry I am for my screw up. If there's anything at all I can do to help you find the son of a bitch, just let me know." Then he turned to me. "It was nice to meet you, ma'am. Good luck finding the bastard."

I smiled at him. "Thanks. Good luck to you too."

"Yes, ma'am," he said to me before turning back to Ranger. "Sir." Then he pivoted on his heel and walked out of the room.

"He's a nice kid," I said to Ranger. "Seems a shame to fire him over a simple mistake, don't you think?"

Ranger looked at me, his face was hard and unyielding. "Yeah, I didn't think so but I had to try."

"Babe," he said with a slight shake of his head.

I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around his waist and lay my head against his shoulder. "How are you doing?" I asked him softly as I felt his arms come up to hold me against him.

I felt him relax a little and he kissed my forehead. "I'm fine. You?"

"Better now," I said as I snuggled against him. "Everything's better when you're holding me," I admitted.

His arms tightened around me and he wrapped one hand around the back of my neck as he angled my head so he could kiss me. It was a tender kiss that left my mind whirling for a few long seconds while his lips were tight against mine. Then he pulled back and leaned his forehead against mine. "Dios [God], Babe," he whispered against my lips. "I wish I could keep you like this all the time."

I made a noise of agreement. Me too. I leaned against him, absorbing some of his warmth and strength. "When all this is over, can we go away for a long weekend or something? Spend some time together with just us? Sometime soon?" I asked.

I felt him nod. "Sure, sounds nice. Where do you want to go?"

I shrugged. "Doesn't matter. Just someplace where we don't have to worry about psychos or idiots. We can just lock ourselves in my apartment for all I care. I just want you to myself."

"How about we take a week and go someplace where you can wear that bikini for me?" he asked.

I nodded. "Sure, anyplace is fine as long as you're there."

He kissed me again. "That's all that matters to me, too," he said just before his lips touched mine and I lost the ability to think for a few minutes. When he finally pulled his head back, I was breathing hard and my arms were wrapped tightly around his neck while his arms kept me plastered against his body. His very yummy, very hard body.

A knock on the door interrupted us. "Enter," Ranger growled in a frustrated tone.

Lester walked in and grinned at us. "Stephanie and Ranger, kissing in a tree," he started singing. I flung the empty water bottle that Marcus had drained at him. He grinned and ducked out of the way with a laugh.

"Santos," Ranger growled.

Lester grinned at us again before answering Ranger. "We've located Sam and we're suiting up to go get him. I figured you'd want to go with us," he said.

Ranger nodded. "Be there in five," he promised.

Lester grinned at me. "Jeez, only five? I'm so sorry, Beautiful," he said with an outrageous wink. "I hope Tina knows how lucky she is that quickness doesn't run in the family."

"Santos!" Ranger and I both yelled and Lester bolted, the sound of his laughter echoing as he dashed out the door before Ranger could get his hands on him.

I laughed and shook my head. "I'm going to tell Tina he said that," I said with a grin as I turned back to Ranger. He had an aggrieved look on his face. "He's just trying to push your buttons," I told him. "Just ignore him."

"I want to just shoot him," he replied in an annoyed tone.

"Yeah, but think how awkward that would make the holidays with your family. So it's not worth it," I concluded. He looked like he was thinking about it so I laughed and kissed him again.

"Promise you won't shoot Lester," I demanded.

He looked at me for a second, a considering look on his face. "What do I get if I promise not to kill him?" he asked with a thinking about smiling look on his face.

"What are you, a mercenary or something?" I teased.

That got me a full smile that lit up his eyes. "Or something," he agreed.

I tilted my head as I pretended to consider it. "Well, what do you want in return for not killing your cousin?" I asked.

I got the wolf smile and I burst out laughing. "Not gonna happen," I said with a grin.

He pulled me tighter against his chest. "Why not?" he asked as he nuzzled my neck. "I can make it worth your while."

"No doubt, but the last time I made any kind of deal with you like that, you broke my heart," I replied drily. "Not doing that again."

He froze and then looked at me with a contrite look on his face. "Babe, I'm sorry about that," he said.

I hugged him. "I know. But I'm still not making any more deals with you, ever!" I said as I kissed his neck. I felt some of his tension melt away as he chuckled slightly.

"Alright, no more deals," he agreed. "I'll try not to shoot Santos but I make no promises."

I laughed. "Just do your best," I said as I patted him on the chest. "That's all I ask."

I hugged him tightly again and stood on my tiptoes to brush a gentle kiss across his lips. "Be careful."

He hugged me back. "Always."

I stepped back and headed towards the door with Ranger trailing after me. "I'll start researching Mick and this guy Sam," I said. "I'll let you know if I learn anything relevant."

He kissed me one last time, a lingering kiss that drew catcalls from the guys waiting in the control room, before heading to the armory to turn into Rambo. I blushed bright red as the guys teased me but I just flipped them the bird as I walked into Ranger's office to use his computer for the searches.

Two hours later, I was sitting with a sheaf of papers in one hand and a pink highlighter in the other. I was going though everything I'd found on Mick and Sam, and I didn't like what I read.

Ranger walked in, and I looked up at the interruption and frowned. Ranger paused as he walked into the room. "What's wrong, Babe?"

I blinked a few times to bring my mind back to the present. "Sorry, just some of the stuff on Mick and Sam. I'll explain in a minute. But first, how did it go?"

He shrugged and sat down on his sofa. "He wasn't home. We waited for a while but he must have left just before we got there. Hal and Junior are watching his apartment now," he said.

I put the cap on the highlighter and looked at Ranger. "Who's been running the searches over the last couple of months?" I asked.

Ranger leaned back against the sofa and thought about it. "Part-time contract workers, mostly. Why?"

"Because the info I pulled on Mick and the info that was in his file don't match. He had a shitty service record, lots of charges for drunkenness and fighting. One allegation of sexual misconduct that didn't go anywhere. Basically, he's someone you would have never even interviewed if you knew all this," I concluded.

Now Ranger frowned. "How the hell did we not find that?" he asked.

I shrugged. "The guy who ran the reports either screwed up gigantically or purposefully left out all of the incriminating bits. It's signed R. Talbot."

Ranger frowned for a second before levering himself up off the couch and disappearing. He returned a moment later with Tank following him. He nodded at me and I repeated the info, asking Tank about R. Talbot.

"He was only here a couple of weeks," Tank replied. "Not a good fit. Showed up late and was damn lazy about workouts. So I fired him."

"When was this?" I asked.

Tank thought for a minute. "About three months ago," he said. "It was while you were in the wind," he told Ranger.

"You guys might want to have a little chat with ol' Talbot," I said. "I'll run a comparison with other searches that he did, but either he was a complete and utter idiot who had no idea how to read or he cleaned up the files on purpose."

Ranger's eyes were narrowed into a hard stare and his body language was threatening. I knew it wasn't directed at me, but still, it was a tad bit scary. I didn't envy this R. Talbot when Ranger got his hands on him.

"Find him," Ranger told Tank, who left the room immediately. I turned back to Ranger's computer to dig up more info on the hapless R. Talbot. He was in a shitload of trouble now.

Ranger simply sat on the sofa watching me while I ran the various searches on Richard Talbot. Once they had all printed, I pulled out the pink highlighter again and start skimming the info. I finished the first page before looking up and seeing that Ranger was still staring at me.

"Could you stop that?" I asked in exasperation.

"What?"

"Staring at me while I'm reading. It's creepy," I complained.

"Babe."

"Ranger, it's creepy. Please stop."

He sighed softly before standing up. "I'll be in the gym."

I nodded. Good, he could work out some of that aggression against a punching bag rather than just staring at me. It really was creepy.

An hour later, I'd finished reading the preliminary reports on Talbot, Mick and Sam, and I need to tell Ranger my results. I went down to the gym and stood transfixed as Ranger pummeled a punching bag. He was shirtless and sweaty, his muscles flexing sinuously under glistening mocha skin as he pounded and kicked the bag with lightening fast moves.

Once I managed to stuff my tongue back into my mouth, I moved to where Ranger could see me. He finished with a powerful roundhouse kick that nearly ripped the bag from its chain.

"Showoff," I teased as I handed him a bottle of cold water. He grinned at me as he tipped the bottle to his lips. I stared in fascination at the strong column of his neck as he gulped the cool water.

He kissed my forehead before grabbing a towel to blot his sweaty chest. I had to clench my fists to keep from ripping the towel out of his hands and doing the task for myself. He smiled at my distraction and I crossed my arms over my chest. "Payback's a bitch, Batman. Didn't I demonstrate that just this morning?"

His eyes darkened slightly as he remembered my little reverse strip tease.

"So now that I have your attention, let me tell you what I found," I said. Ranger nodded, moving towards the stairs. I followed after him, grumbling when he chose the stairs instead of the elevator. Who does that?

Once we were in his apartment on the seventh floor, I continued my story. "Richard Talbot, Mick the asshole and Sam Murphy were all in the Air Force. I haven't made a definitive connection between them, but they were all stationed at the same base for about six months, so I figure they all knew each other there. Talbot had to have cleaned up the files of Mick and Sam so they'd be hired. The searches pulled up all of their disciplinary records, but those didn't make it into the file. I have an address for Talbot, and I called pretending to be organizing his high school reunion. I spoke to his girlfriend, who said he'd be home about six tonight."

"What's his training?" Ranger asked. At my confused look, he elaborated. "Hand to hand combat, weapons training. How dangerous is he?"

"Oh, not very, best I can tell. Looks like I could kick his ass. He was mostly a computer tech with mediocre scores in fitness and weapons training. They were okay but not spectacular and he didn't have anything more advanced than basic training or whatever the Air Force calls it. I can actually run faster than he can, based on his last fitness eval before he left the Air Force. His tech skills are pretty impressive though, way better than mine will ever be."

I followed Ranger as he went into his bedroom and stripped out of his sweaty workout clothes. I stared intently at his bare ass but continued talking. I was insanely proud that I was actually making sense. "Seems to be working as a computer tech for a chemical company now," I said. "No gun permits popped up but that doesn't mean much in New Jersey."

Ranger snorted an agreement. He turned around to see me gazing at him lustfully. "Babe," he said, "you keep looking at me like that and we won't make it to pick up Talbot tonight."

I grinned at him. "Promises, promises."

He stalked over to me, his nude body moving with fluid grace. He removed the stack of papers from my hands and tossed them on the bed before pulling me against him and kissing the daylights out of me. "I always keep my promises, Babe," he whispered huskily.

I gulped hard and jumped away, trying to put some space between us. If he kissed me like that again, probably we wouldn't be leaving his apartment to find Talbot.

He grinned at me, enjoying my reaction. "Someday," he said with a quirked eyebrow as I fled into his living room.

"Soon as we get all this shit sorted out," I said with a grin as I studiously avoided looking at him, "we'll go away for the weekend and I'll consider your offer, Mr. Manoso."

"You waiting for me to make you an offer you can't refuse?" he asked with a smile as he followed me in the living room, still completely and unabashedly naked.

I didn't answer, I was too busy staring intently at his ceiling.

He laughed again and then went into his bathroom to shower. I gathered up my papers from his bed while he was in the shower and then hightailed it to his dining room table. I spread out the papers and was making notes and trying to see if I could find any other possible connection between the three men when I heard the water turn off.

It took a heck of a lot of willpower to not turn and stare at the bathroom door. Since Ranger hadn't taken any clothes with him into the bathroom, I knew he'd come out in nothing but a teeny, tiny towel or, even more disturbing to my composure, in nothing at all.

I guess I was feeling so proud of myself for not looking that I didn't hear Ranger crossing the living room. Suddenly, he was standing over top of me, leaning down to review the papers. I jumped in my chair and squeaked in surprise before I bit back a moan as the scent of his Bulgari shower gel enveloped me, turning my insides to mush.

"Find anything new?" he asked me.

I just shook my head no. I didn't trust my voice not to betray just how affected I was at the moment. I was insanely curious to know if he was wearing a towel around his hips or nothing and it felt like my jaw was almost breaking with the tension from clenching it so tight. I was going to need a good dentist after this to fix the teeth that I was grinding down.

This whole celibacy thing bites. And if we found Mick, I was going to kick him in the balls and in the teeth in retaliation. If he hadn't been an asshole, Ranger's first few days back may have gone much differently.

"You want me bad," he whispered in my ear. Yeah, no shit, Batman!

I stood up and turned to face him, letting every bit of lust and desire show on my face and in my body language. He sucked in a partially stifled gasp as I pretty much attacked him. There's really not any other way to describe it. I wrapped my arms around his neck and dragged his lips down to mine and I kissed him as thoroughly as anyone has ever been kissed in the history of the world.

Then I scraped my nails down his chest and abs and felt his muscles quiver under my hands. I pulled away from the kiss with a soft sigh as I slid my hands down to his naked hips. Well, that answered the question of towel or not. He'd picked not. I definitely didn't object.

I stepped back slightly and glanced down to see little Ranger enthusiastically saluting. "You want me bad," I said with a seductive smile as I raised my eyebrows at him, daring him to taunt me any further.

"Babe," he ground out as he yanked me back against him and ravished my mouth. We were both panting a few minutes later and somehow my shirt had ended up on the floor. I swear the man has magical hands.

I sucked in a deep breath, fighting to get oxygen into my befuddled brain. His eyes were dark with passion and I was just a hairsbreadth away from flinging caution to the wind.

"Stop," I said softly before repeating it again with more strength. "Ranger, stop. We don't have time for this now."

He let out a strangled groan that I completely agreed with. We shouldn't have started anything because it was getting damn hard, pun intended, to stop. He rested his forehead against mine as he tried to get a grip on his passion too. "Dios [God], Babe," he panted. I just stroked his bath soothingly, trying to calm down myself too.

"I told you payback was a bitch," I said against his neck as I fought valiantly against my seething, rampaging hormones. They were ready to stage a coup d'état and just shut down my brain until I gave in.

Ranger just growled softly, his breath hot against my skin. That set my hormones to tap dancing again so I very reluctantly dragged myself away from his warm hands and even warmer lips. "Go put on clothes," I ordered as I picked up my discarded shirt.

He groaned but complied. I looked up in time to see his wonderfully toned ass walk by and I had to bite down on my lip to keep from tackling him and licking him all over to see if his skin tasted as good as it looked.

Five tortuously long minutes later, he reemerged dressed in black SWAT gear with a veritable arsenal of weapons strapped to his luscious body. He looked like he could take down a third world regime without breaking a sweat. It was sexy as hell. Ah heck, who am I kidding? Everything about him is sexy as hell. I don't know how in the heck I managed to let him go. I must have hidden depths of self-control that I never knew about. Now if only I could marshal that self-control towards eating healthier.

He walked towards me but stopped a good five feet away. I raised my eyebrows at him. "I don't trust myself," he replied in answer to my silent question. "Or you."

I had to laugh at his disgruntled tone. He sounded like a little boy who'd been told he couldn't play with his favorite toy. Good to know that I'm his favorite toy.

He glared at me for laughing but I just grinned at him. "Probably a wise precaution," I agreed.

He glared at me for another few seconds before he nodded once and sat down on the opposite side of the table, far enough away, I supposed, to avoid temptation. I chuckled slightly and slid a page of notes across to him.

"I've tried to consolidate most of the relevant info about Talbot for you and the guys. He's got crazy computer skills but looks like he was in the bottom as far as physical fitness and marksmanship are concerned. His job was to play with computers, not guns, so it really didn't matter much, I guess. So hopefully he'll be relatively easy to pick up," I said.

Ranger studied my notes for a few minutes before he pulled his cell phone out of one of the myriad pockets on his cargos and utility belt. He dialed a number and spoke succinctly. "Assemble another team to pick up Talbot," he said before hanging up.

"We really have to work on your phone skills," I mused aloud. He shot me another glare and I gave him my most angelic and innocent grin. That turned his glare to a distrustful look. So I laughed again. Hey, at this point, it was either find the humor in it and laugh or weep in frustration. So sue me if I choose the happier alternative.

"Alrighty, then, let's head down stairs where there's no temptation to be naughty," I said with a grin as I stood.

"Babe, when you're involved, I'm always tempted," he said as he stood, giving me ample space to walk by him.

"Hmm, giving me that information could be dangerous," I teased.

He snorted slightly and I blinked in shock. "You're the only one who didn't know that, Babe," he said with a slight grin.

I smiled at him and he stepped back two steps. "What's wrong?" I asked in confusion.

He glared at me for a second. "You're too damn beautiful when you smile like that."

Aww. I smiled again. "That's sweet. Thank you."

"Stop doing that!" he replied in an aggrieved tone.

"Stop what?"

"Smiling!"

I laughed and he backed up another two feet, muttering softly to himself in Spanish as he looked out the window. I just gathered up all my papers, trying unsuccessfully to keep a smile off my face and headed to the door.

I walked out and hit the button for the elevator. Ranger still hadn't come out of the apartment so I yelled back into the apartment. "Are you coming?"

Then I almost peed on myself laughing when I heard him mutter a reply. "Someday."

I was standing in the elevator giggling when he walked out of the apartment. I held the door open for him but he just took one look at me and headed to the stairs. I shrugged and let the doors close. I was surprised to see that I'd beat Ranger to the conference room and I was starting to get a little bit worried when Lester walked in laughing uproariously.

I looked at him suspiciously. "What's so funny, chuckles?"

"What did you do to him?" Lester asked. My confusion must have shown on my face. "To Ranger," he clarified.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

He laughed again. "He's running the stairs in his SWAT gear. He's been up and down the building a half a dozen times already. So again, what did you do to him?"

I grinned, blushing a little. "Things got a bit out of hand earlier but we didn't have time for anything," I said.

Lester laughed even harder. "Talbot is really in for it now. You're sending a sexually frustrated, pissy Ranger after him. I'm definitely going now, this should be fun!"

"Shut up," I told him. "Or I'll tell Tina you're being mean to me and you'll be the sexually frustrated one!" He just laughed at my empty threat.

A few minutes later, Ranger walked into the room, his breathing heavy and his skin dewy with perspiration. I looked up at him with a smile. Lester just laughed. "Feeling better now?" Lester asked with a chuckle.

Ranger shot Lester a death glare that shut him up, but I just chuckled to myself and looked down at my pages of notes.

Everyone else was already there, so Ranger got everyone's attention by simply clearing his throat. Then he nodded at me and I explained what I'd found.

Tank looked ready to break the big mahagony table with his bare hands by the time I was done. "Fucker going down," he swore. The other men around the table nodded in agreement.

Ranger sent a couple of guys to run surveillance on Talbot's house. Hector and Binkie went to the chemical company he worked for and planted a tracker on his car and settled in to wait for him to get off work. Ranger, Tank, Lester and the rest of the guys spent the rest of the time coming up with a strategy.

I listened to them debate for a while before I jumped into the conversation. "Use me," I said and all eyes in the room turned to look at me. "I'll pretend to have car trouble or something like that and knock on the door. He comes out, you guys grab him. Then you put the fear of God in him and he spills his guts."

"You sure, Babe?" Ranger asked. "Last time we used you as bait, it didn't end too pleasantly."

I nodded. "Just don't let him shoot me and we'll be good."

Lester took me back to my apartment so I could change out of the RangeMan clothes and put on something that would hopefully convince Talbot to come and help me with my car problems. I changed into a pair of cut off jean shorts that were just shy of being Daisy Dukes and a form fitting, sleeveless blue mock turtleneck to hide the bruises and scrapes from Mick's attack. I tarted up the makeup and I packed a bag in case I ended up staying at RangeMan tonight.

I didn't have a car yet, since I'd been using Ranger's, so I was going to borrow Lester's. Lester had categorically refused to let me borrow his SUV at first, insisting that he wasn't yet sure that my car karma had changed. He only relented when Ranger promised to buy him a new car if I got Lester's SUV blown to smithereens.

By five, we were all in position. Bobby had called to say that the girlfriend had left the house around 3 pm, so at least we didn't have to worry about her. Binkie called when Talbot left the chemical company. They were tailing him and the guys left in the control room were also tracking his car just in case they lost him in the rush hour traffic.

Talbot came home, parked and went inside his house without ever so much as even looking around. Lester snorted softly at this and wondered why the hell they'd have even considered this idiot for RangeMan. Good question.

We gave him about fifteen minutes before Ranger gave the order and had guys start getting into position around Talbot's house and where I'd planned to have my faux break down. Once they were all in position, Ranger and Lester got out of the SUV.

Lester handed me his keys reluctantly. "Please don't blow up my baby!" he pleaded. I rolled my eyes at him.

Ranger just kissed me gently on the forehead. "Be careful, Babe."

"You too, Batman."

Then they vanished. I gave them a couple of minutes before I pulled out and drove slowly down the road, hitting the brakes and gas frequently to make the car lurch. I could hear Lester cursing in my earpiece so I spoke into my wire. "Calm down, dude, it's just for show!"

I parked the car and made a big show of getting out and stomping around, cursing loudly and flinging my arms around like the irate Italian I was playing. Good thing I have a lot of experience with that particular role. I popped the hood and stared at it for a minute before cursing and gesticulating wildly again. I could hear someone laughing in my ear. At least someone was enjoying the show.

I stomped up the stairs to Talbot's door and banged furiously. He opened it a few seconds later, he must have been watching me out the peep hole or window.

"Car broke down?" he asked sympathetically.

"Second time this week, damn it!" I replied. "Something's overheating. I don't know."

He smiled at me. "Let me take a look, sweetheart."

I smiled at him as he pulled the door closed behind him. "Thank you!"

He gestured for me to precede him, so I did, putting as much wiggle into my hips as I could without looking like I needed to have a hip replacement surgery. I got to the car and bent over to look under the open hood. I heard an oomph and turned to see Tank standing over a prone Talbot. Ranger was kneeling on Talbot's back, his knee in Talbot's spine as he secured his arms behind his back with a pair of handcuffs.

Talbot started cursing as Ranger hauled him to his feet. "What the fuck are you doing?" he was yelling. Ranger shoved him forward and he crashed into Tank's massive chest and bounced back a few inches.

Talbot looked up, way up since he was a little shorter than me, into Tank's seriously pissed face and paled visibly. Talbot gulped a few times and looked like he was trying not to lose his lunch.

I stepped back a couple of feet, just in case. It had been over a year since I'd been covered in gross stuff, and that was one streak I wanted to keep going.

"Talbot," Tank growled in a menacing voice. "We need to talk."

Talbot looked even sicker, enough that even Ranger edged back a few inches and was poised to run the second Talbot even thought about looking in his direction.

Tank glared at him. "If you puke on me, I will kill you." I'm almost positive that he meant it, too. Talbot for sure believed him since he broke out into a cold sweat and kept swallowing convulsively.

"Brown," Ranger said, "he's all yours." Bobby stepped up and looked incredibly annoyed to be saddled with the potentially puking Talbot. One of the downsides of being the company medic, I guess.

Bobby grabbed him and dragged him none too gently over to the curb. One of the RangeMan fleet SUVs drove up and Bobby shoved him inside. "If you puke in this car," I heard Bobby say over my earpiece, "you will clean it with a damn toothbrush before I kill you!"

I shook my head and looked at Ranger. He looked amused with a thinking about smiling look on his face. "Have a good time scaring the shit out of him, big guy?" I asked a smiling Tank.

He smiled at me. "That wasn't the end I was worried about," he deadpanned and I burst out laughing. Even Ranger laughed a little at that.

I turned to Lester and handed him back his car keys. "Oh thank you, God!" he exclaimed as he snatched them out of my hands. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Does Tina know you're this attached to your car?" I asked him. He glared at me.

"She's heard stories about you and cars. I'm sure she'd understand," then he turned on his heel and walked over to his car. "I'm so glad you're still in one piece," he said as he affectionately patted the hood of his SUV.

I looked back at Ranger. "Does crazy run in your family?"

Ranger smirked. "I think he was adopted."

"I heard that! Was not!" Lester yelled.

I laughed and walked over to Ranger, who slung one arm around my shoulder and pulled me close. "Good job, Babe. You've got a way with words when you're pretending to be angry. I'm pretty sure some of those things aren't even anatomically possible though."

I cast him a flirtatious glance. "Was that a challenge?"

Ranger groaned and Tank grinned at us. "I do not want to hear this," Tank said. So I winked at Tank and Ranger and walked away.

_**Author's note: **__Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! As always, reviews are extraordinarily appreciated!_


	85. Chapter 85

_**Chapter 85**_

Ranger and I rode back with Lester. I spent the drive back to RangeMan teasing Les about his obsession with his car. Les just kept shooting me dirty looks in the rearview mirror but I knew I was safe. One, Les would never, ever hurt me no matter how much we tease and joke with each other. Two, Ranger wouldn't let anyone hurt me and he was in the front seat next to Lester.

When we got back and had climbed out of the car, I hugged Les. "Thank you for letting me borrow your car," I told him. He grinned back and planted a loud kiss on the top of my head, which made Ranger growl slightly. Les just smirked at Ranger as we walked towards the elevator.

Les was sniping at Ranger, making oblique no sex references, and Ranger looked like he was getting closer and closer to killing Lester. I decided it was time for a musical moment. "Love in an elevator," I sang and they both turned to look at me. "Lovin' it up while we're going down. Love in an elevator, lovin' it up til I hit the ground. In the air! In the air! Honey one more time, now it ain't fair! Love in an elevator," then the doors opened on the fifth floor and I stepped off, continuing to sing as I walked away. So can you tell what I had on my mind?

Cal had the YouTube video of the song playing on one of the computer screens next to the monitors he was watching. Guess he'd caught the first part of my performance. So I wandered over to him and we sang a duet. Well, he mostly just sang the "oh" and "oh, yeah" parts but I'm still counting it as a duet.

I looked back to see Lester laughing and Ranger had his hands on his hips, but he was smiling just a little. "What?" I asked. "You were almost ready to kill Les so I figured a little Aerosmith might help."

Ranger just shook his head slightly as he walked into Tank's office. Lester came over to me and I Gibbs smacked him lightly on the back of his head. "You know better than that!" I admonished him.

He loomed over me, trying to look scary. Didn't work on me, I was immune now. Seeing a grown man in yellow SpongeBob boxers makes it really hard to be intimidated by him. I stuck my hands on my hips and glared up at him.

"Want me to break your nose again?" I asked. "Will that teach you to keep it out of other people's business?"

Lester busted out laughing, which completely ruined any attempt at being scary. I tossed him a quick grin as I walked into Tank's office.

"So we playing good cop, bad cop?" I asked.

Ranger looked at me. "Babe."

I rolled my eyes. "Think about it, guys. If it was you in the hot seat, who would you rather talk to? Scary, pissed off dudes who could rip you apart without breaking a sweat or a sympathetic and scantily clad woman?"

Ranger's eyebrows went up. "Babe."

"Ranger."

He sighed softly.

"At least let me try this way first. Then you can always still waterboard him or whatever later," I said.

"Babe."

"I know you know more words than that. I've heard you use them. So use them now," I replied in a slightly snarky tone.

Tank looked like he was about to burst out laughing. It was kind of scary, actually. Other than the time I broke Lester's nose, I'd never really seen him laugh before. One quick glance at Ranger convinced him that it would not be a wise move, so he kept silent. But I'm pretty sure he was about to pop a vein or something keeping the laughter in.

"Fine," he said with a sigh. "We'll try your way first, but then we'll use my way if that doesn't work."

"Now was that so hard?" I asked.

Ranger just shot a faintly irritated look at me. I'd won, so I just stood on my tiptoes and kissed his cheek. "Thank you."

He smiled slightly at me as he wrapped one arm around my waist and held me close. Then he kissed me and it wasn't on the cheek.

We pulled apart when Tank started clearing his throat. I looked over at him. "I thought I was going to have to get a fire hose to get you two apart," he said with a grin. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Mm hmm, Tankie bear," I said with a grin. He froze in place and shot me a startled look. "Yeah, Lula likes to tell stories. So watch it with the commentary."

Ranger raised an eyebrow but I just ignored it, focusing my gaze on Tank, who glared at me. I glared back, secure in the knowledge that I was safe in Ranger's arms. After a moment, Tank relaxed and smiled slightly. "Alright," he said, "I'll keep my mouth shut if you keep yours shut."

"Deal," I replied with a grin and I felt Ranger chuckle. Tank shook his head and walked out, leaving us alone in his office.

"Why will you make a deal with him but not with me?" Ranger whispered into my ear, making me shiver as his warm breath blew over my skin.

I shot him a look. "You know why."

He grinned at me. He'd been doing a lot of that recently. It seemed like he now smiled more in one day that I remember in the cumulative years that I'd known him before.

"You're doing a lot of that lately," I said as I tilted my head to study him.

One eyebrow lifted in silent question. "Smiling," I clarified. "I've seen you smile more in the last few days than combined in the three years I knew you before."

That led to a big, bright smile and I had to blink a few times to clear my mind. I wonder if Ranger smiles will always make my brain go fuzzy or if I'll one day develop an immunity?

"Didn't have much to smile about, Babe," he told me.

"And you've got something to smile about now?" I queried.

He brushed a gentle kiss across my lips and I heard the angels singing. "Yes."

Aww, how sweet. "Good to know," I said softly. We smiled at each other for minute before getting back to business.

"So you'll let me try with Talbot first?" I asked, just to be sure.

Ranger grimaced slightly but nodded, his blank mask settling across his face. "Okay," I said. "I'll be good cop, you'll be bad cop and Tank will be worst cop."

His lips twitched ever so slightly at my description of Tank but his face otherwise remained neutral. "Any news on Sam?" I asked.

Ranger shook his head. "He's not come home yet," he replied.

"Have you tried calling him in?" I asked.

"What?" he asked.

"Well, he's a contract guy. So call him in. Say someone got sick or hurt or whatever. Even if Mick told him what happened, Sam probably doesn't know that we know that they're buddies. So he might just come in voluntarily," I said logically.

Ranger blinked at me once before nodding. "Good idea," he replied over his shoulder as he walked out of the room, presumably to get someone to call in Sam.

I trailed after Ranger, enjoying the view very much.

"Santos," Ranger growled, making Lester jump about a foot. "Call in Sam, tell him someone's out sick or something. Get him in here now," he said before striding away to talk to Tank.

Lester looked back at me and grinned, shaking his head slightly. "How the hell did none of us think of that?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Got me."

Lester just grinned and snatched up the phone. Ranger was off talking to Tank so I stayed next to Lester. "Jenkins," Santos said in a brusque tone. "It's Santos at RangeMan. We had a guy get hurt in a take down. Can you come in?"

Sam apparently agreed because Lester grinned and flashed me a thumbs up. "Good. Get here as quick as you can, we're short staffed as it is," Lester said before disconnecting.

"He's on his way," Lester said. "Said he'd be here in about fifteen minutes."

I flashed Lester a thumbs up and wandered over to Ranger and Tank. "Shithead is on his way," I told them. Ranger simply nodded curtly and turned back to Tank so I shrugged and went back over to Lester.

"He's not in a chatty mood," I told Lester.

Lester chuckled and wrapped one arm around my shoulder. We went upstairs so I could change clothes and then we came back downstairs and chatted for a while.

Suddenly, Cal stood up by the monitors. "He's here! On his way up!" Cal yelled.

Now if I hadn't seen this with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it. But most of the dozen or so huge and heavily armed men scattered into the ether like cockroaches when you turn on the lights. One second they were there, then poof, they were all gone. I'd been watching them and I still didn't know how it happened.

I blinked up at Lester and he grinned at me before dragging me over to his cubicle. "Stay hidden just in case Mick told him anything," Lester ordered as he essentially stuffed me under his desk.

I heard the elevator ding and then Lester was talking. "Jenkins," Les said. "Thanks for coming in on short notice."

Then I heard the brief sounds of a scuffle before I heard a yelp and then a thud. I crawled out from under Lester's desk on my hands and knees to see Ranger standing behind the crumpled body of Sam on the carpet with a small smile on his face.

He was flexing his right hand slightly so I figured that was why Sam was taking a little catnap on the floor of the control room.

"Feeling better?" I asked Ranger as I got to my feet.

He raised one eyebrow at me and nodded. I rolled my eyes at him. The other guys reappeared and Tank and Cal picked up his limp body. They accidentally dropped him a time or two as they loaded him on the elevator. Bobby stepped in behind them with his black medic bag. Guess he was going to make sure Sam Jenkins wasn't too badly hurt.

Ranger came over and pressed a quick kiss to my hair before turning back to the guys. "Good job, men," he said.

Most of them nodded but I'm pretty sure I saw Lester preen a little bit.

"So shall we go have a chat with Richard Talbot while Jenkins finishes his nap?" I asked. Ranger nodded.

I followed Ranger, Tank and Lester into the elevator and we found Manny standing at parade rest outside of Talbot's holding cell. Guess they weren't taking any chances on him escaping. Ranger nodded at Manny and Manny stepped aside, giving me a surreptitious wink as I walked by him. I winked back.

Talbot jumped up from the chair when we walked in. He took one look at the blank faced Ranger and Tank at my sides and gulped hard. Guess his stomach was still feeling a little twitchy. Not that I blamed him, these two guys looked freaking scary.

"What's going on?" he finally asked. "No one has told me anything."

"I'm Stephanie," I told him and his eyes widened. "We want to ask you about Mick Taylor."

Talbot's eyes went even wider. "What about him?"

"You cleaned up his service record so he and Sam Jenkins would be hired," I told him. There was no need to make it a question, I had too much evidence to prove it.

He nodded and then sat down hard in the bolted to the floor chair. I took the one across the table from him. "They came to me once they'd applied and threatened me. They said they'd kill me if I didn't get them hired." He fidgeted for a minute. "I was scared of them, so I cleaned up their records."

"Mick tried to rape me," I told him as I pointed to my bruised throat. "We need find him."

Talbot shot an anxious glance at Ranger at that. Guess he'd heard enough stories to know that Batman wouldn't like that. At all.

"I'm sorry," he said softly. "I'm really sorry. I knew I shouldn't do it, but," he paused for a few seconds and took a deep breath. "But I was afraid they really would kill me. I figured they would screw up sooner rather than later and they'd be fired but they couldn't blame me for it."

"But that's not exactly what happened," I told him. Ranger growled over my shoulder and Talbot got even paler.

Talbot swallowed again. "I'm sorry. Those two had shitty reputations, always fighting, and, well, I wasn't good at the physical side of thing." Tank snorted at that and I shot him a quick glare. "I was just scared of them but I should have just left the shit in their files. I'm sorry for what happened to you," he told me. He seemed sincere.

"Do you know where Mick would go?" I asked.

Talbot stared at me for a long time, long enough to make me start to feel uncomfortable. It apparently made Ranger uncomfortable because he growled slightly and shifted to stand a bit closer to me. That snapped Talbot out of it.

"Oh sorry!" he said with a blush. "I was just thinking. I wasn't friends with them, I didn't like them. I just knew them mostly by reputation when we were in the Air Force. So I really don't know where he'd go. If he's smart, he's a thousand miles from here now. But smart isn't a word I'd use to describe him," he warned.

Now it was my turn to snort. "No shit."

I got a half smile from Talbot. "Both Mick and Sam are assholes. Mean sons of bitches, too. That's why I believed them when they said they'd kill me and my girlfriend if I didn't help them. So be careful."

I nodded and then stood, looking over to Ranger for confirmation that we'd learned all we could from Talbot. He nodded slightly and shot an evil glare at Talbot. "Stay here," he ordered Talbot as he turned on his heel and knocked once on the door.

Manny opened it immediately and Ranger waited for me to go out the door first. Lester was walking out of what I knew was an observation room. Bobby came out behind him.

"He didn't know where Mick might be," I told Bobby and Lester. They both nodded. Obviously they'd heard my discussion with him.

"Sam?" I asked as I turned to Bobby.

Bobby grinned at me. "Still out cold," he said.

I turned to Ranger who smirked ever so slightly. Yeah, yeah, so he's Batman. Big deal.

"Alright. So let us know when he's awake?" I asked but it really wasn't a question. Bobby nodded as he and Lester took up position outside of Sam Jenkin's cell.

"Well," I told Ranger and Tank, "I'm ready for a snack."

I walked to the elevator and got on, intending to head back to five for a sandwich or something. Ranger wrapped one arm around me and pulled me close to his side. When the elevator dinged and stopped on the fifth floor, Tank got out and I started to follow until Ranger tightened his arm around me to keep me from moving. I shot him in inquisitive glance and he just hit the button for seven.

I just shrugged and leaned against him, absorbing a little of his warmth.

He fobbed open the door to his apartment without a word and we walked in. As soon as the door was closed, he pulled me to him and held me tight. "You okay?" I asked him. I felt him nod.

"Just needed this," he told me. I smiled against his chest.

"Me too," I admitted.

We made sandwiches and ate those while relaxing on his couch. Finally, Ranger began to talk again. "Babe," he started and I knew I wasn't going to like what he had to say. "I don't want you in the room when we talk to Jenkins."

I looked at him. "Why not?"

"He's more dangerous and it's probably going to take some persuasion to make him talk," Ranger told me. "And you don't need to be there for that."

"Ranger, you can't lock me out of this," I argued.

"I'm not. But I don't want to run the risk of you getting hurt again. And being the good cop won't help in this case. I read his unedited file while you were with Santos and it's not going to be easy to get him to talk. He's just as bad as Talbot, had a number of sexual assault charges against him that were dropped when the women vanished or recanted," he said.

"I can take care of myself."

"I know you can, but let me take care of you a little bit too. You probably got more out of Talbot than we would have, but that won't work with Jenkins. It will only make things worse," he told him. "Please, Babe."

Ah hell, that's cheating! I yawned hugely and leaned back to massage my temples. He brushed my hands away, pulled me against his chest and rubbed my temples for me instead. I moaned as he applied steady and firm pressure to where my head was pounding.

"Headache?" he asked, rather unnecessarily in my opinion. I just nodded. "How bad?"

I shrugged. "I'll live but it's not all that pleasant."

"Want me to call Bobby?" he asked, sounding concerned. How sweet.

"No, I'll take some ibuprofen," I told him as his magic hands continued to make me want to purr like a cat.

"Why don't you take some medicine and then try to nap for a while? You've had a really rough few days," he suggested.

"You've had an even rougher few months," I replied.

He kissed the back of my neck. "I'm used to it."

"How about you lay down with me for a while?" I tried to bargain. "I always sleep better when you're next to me."

There was silence while Ranger considered it. "I'll lay down with you for a little while," he said. I figured getting him to rest for even a little while was as good as I was going to get, so I had to be happy with it.

I stood up and staggered slightly as the shift in position caused my head to start pounding like a drum. Ranger stood and simply scooped me up in his arms. I sighed and leaned my head against his shoulder as he carried me into the bedroom, knowing it was absolutely pointless to argue about it. He sat me gently on the bed before removing my shoes. He returned a moment later with one of his folded black t-shirts and handed it to me before he vanished again.

I changed out of my jeans and t-shirt into his t-shirt while he was gone. I'd just tucked myself under the blankets when he walked in with the bottle of ibuprofen and a bottle of water. The timing seemed just a bit too coincidental so I raised my eyebrows at him.

"Lead me not into temptation," he said with a rueful grin. "But deliver me from evil."

I burst out laughing at his recitation of the Lord's Prayer. He smiled at my giggles and handed me two tablets and opened the bottle of water for me.

"Are you saying that I'm evil?" I asked after I finished taking the medicine.

"No, but not being able to do what I want to do to you feels pretty evil to me," he said as he kicked off his boots and shrugged out of his Kevlar vest.

I got a rush at the thought of what he wanted to do to me and he grinned at my blush. He laid down on the bed and gathered me into his arms, but I noticed that he was still on the outside of the covers and pretty much fully dressed.

Drat.

"Not now, Babe, you've got a headache," he said as I got the full-on 200-watt Ranger smile at my distraction.

I laughed at him again and he kissed my temple. "I love it when you're so playful," I told him with a sigh as I snuggled against my back against his front as we spooned.

"I'll show you really playful once this is all over," he murmured into my ear and I had to suppress a shudder as his warm breath blew across my sensitive ear.

"I'll look forward to that," I said as I felt my eyelids start to droop.

I heard him muttering softly behind me but I couldn't make out the words. "Hmm?" I asked.

"Just saying that I'm most definitely looking forward to it," he whispered. "Now go to sleep."

"'Kay. Love you, Carlos," I whispered as I started to fall asleep. I felt his arms tighten around me at the use of his real name and he kissed the back of my neck softly.

"I love you too, Stephanie," was the last thing I heard before I fell asleep, warm and content in Ranger's arms.

I woke up alone a while later. My headache was gone so Ranger didn't have an excuse any more. Just my luck, he's probably beating the shit out of Sam instead being all warm and snuggly next to me where I could pounce on him in his sleep.

I pondered that idea for a few minutes before finally pushing back the blankets with a sigh and getting to my feet. After using the bathroom, I got dressed again in my jeans and t-shirt and wandered into the living room.

It took me a minute to notice the note propped up against a plastic wrapped giant slide of pineapple upside cake.

_Babe,_

_Hope your headache is gone and you're feeling better. If not, call Bobby to check you out. I'll be back upstairs once we're done or you can hang out with the guys on 5._

_Ella left dinner in the oven to stay warm._

_Love,_

_C_

I smiled at my note before dashing to the oven and peeking inside. Yum, looked like some sort of lasagna. It was probably ridiculously healthy for me, but I knew that it would be ridiculously good since Ella made it.

I opened the fridge and found a can of Coke and a large bowl of salad. Since there was already a plate and bowl in the sink, I figured the salad was for me too. I grabbed both items and sat them on the table before carrying the plate of lasagna and cake over too.

I enjoyed my dinner, including the amazing cake, and then I was feeling slightly bored. So I headed down to five to hang out.

Bobby and Lester were still gone, presumably downstairs with Ranger and Tank having a chat with Sam. So I hung out with Binkie and Hal as they watched monitors.

Hal wasn't exactly a big talker but luckily Binkie was willing to just chat with me. I was teasing him about his new girlfriend, whom no one had met yet, when the elevator opened. I leaned back to peek around the mountain that was Hal and saw Ranger and the other missing guys looking royally pissed.

"Uh oh," I told Binkie and Hal. "This doesn't look good."

I walked slowly up to the guys. They looked tense and on the edge and I didn't want to startle them.

"Went that well, huh?" I asked once Ranger had focused his laser-beam gaze on me. He simply inclined his head slightly.

I turned to Lester, who I figured would be more likely to answer me. "What happened?"

The only times I'd ever seen Lester look more pissed was when Blondie and Brownie attacked me in North Carolina and when Mick had attacked me in the breakroom. He stared at me for a second before taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. He nodded at Bobby and the two of them stepped closer to me.

"Let's talk in Bobby's office," Lester suggested, but it wasn't much of a suggestion since Bobby had one arm and Lester had the other as they frog-marched me into Bobby's office.

"So what happened?" I asked again.

Lester sighed. "Jenkins is a damn idiot," he said. "He just tried to taunt Ranger about how he'd seen you flirting with all of the guys while he was gone and that you'd obviously wanted Mick to make a move. Said a lot of stupid shit about you, about us. Dumbass move. So once we got Ranger back under control, which took a while, he still wouldn't tell us where to find Mick. If he even knows. He's just an idiot."

I looked at Bobby. "Is he still an alive idiot?"

Bobby nodded. Phew.

"So what are we going to do with Sam now?" I asked.

Lester growled a little and I could definitely figure out his opinion based on the murderous look on my friend's face.

Bobby shrugged. "I vote that we do the world a favor and at least neuter the bastard first if we have to let him go," he said.

I'll vote for that, too.

Ranger had pulled some strings with the military brass, and several women had come forward to accuse Sam of sexual assault again. Now that Sam was in RangeMan custody and Mick was AWOL, they felt safe enough to lodge formal complaints. So the Air Force sent a couple of MPs to escort him to another holding cell courtesy of Uncle Sam.

We spent the next week turning over every rock to find the slime ball Mick but we simply ran out of leads. Ranger had put out the word with all of his street contacts that he'd be grateful if someone delivered Mick to our front door or let us know where to find him. And on Stark Street, having Ranger's gratitude could be a big freaking deal, so there were nosy gang bangers looking everywhere for Mick too.

Finally, after a week, I reminded Ranger of his promise to only spend a reasonable period of time looking for the asshole and that we'd simply assume he had a few functioning brain cells and had left town if we couldn't find him. Ranger had argued with me for almost an hour but I refused to budge. We'd tried to find him but we couldn't, so Ranger needed to get back to his regular work rather than spending eighteen hours a day, I'd kept track of it, looking for Mick.

I finally convinced Ranger with a little well placed pressure of my own. "We agreed that once this was over and things had settled down that we'd spend a little time with just us," I reminded him. He looked torn for a moment but I'm pretty sure the fact that I practically tackled him and left little kisses all over his face helped to convince him to see the wisdom of my suggestion.

Or at least little Ranger seemed convinced that I was right.

We still hadn't done anything beyond cuddling and actually sleeping. Ranger was literally spending almost all of the time he wasn't sleeping out beating the bushes for Mick. I don't know how he had the energy because there's no way I could survive on that little sleep without ripping people's heads off.

Ranger had convinced me to give him one more day and then he'd try to catch up everything at RangeMan as quickly as possible so we could go spend a week or two together with just us. I got a squishy feeling just thinking about it.

Now it was a few days later and RangeMan had a tip on a high dollar skip, worth even more than the jackass Jackson had been. Unfortunately, the skip didn't give a damn about women so I couldn't do anything to help lure him out. So the guys were planning to rush the house he was in and drag him out by force.

Once the guys were all out getting ready to storm the castle or the beaches or whatever you want to call it, I gave Ranger a big kiss goodbye. I needed to go back to my apartment and take care of some things, like doing laundry and packing for our mini-vacation in a few days.

Ranger just gave me a kiss hot enough to make all the Merry Men start cheering before he told me he'd be over once the take down was done. I was too discombobulated to reply before he was gone.

I don't know what it was, but I woke up convinced beyond a doubt that someone was in my room. I didn't get the tingle I usually got when it was Ranger so I didn't think it was him.

I heard a soft footfall on my carpet, close to my bed. Ranger made no noise so I knew it wasn't him.

I just reacted instinctively. I flung myself off the opposite edge of the bed, smashing down the panic button on the nightstand as I rolled to the floor. I heard a muffled sound from across the room as I hit the carpet with a bone-jarring crash.

Since Ranger had been staying with me regularly, I knew there were weapons hidden all around the apartment. I'd actually made the bed the morning before, shocking, I know, and I'd noticed a Baretta tucked between the mattress and boxspring.

I tugged it free and popped my head over the mattress as I squinted into the inky darkness. I could make out a slightly darker blob moving my way. "Stop!" I yelled.

Then I heard a voice on the intercom. "Bomber!" he practically shouted. "What's going on?" I recognized it as Cal's voice.

"Someone's in my apartment," I screamed.

"Stephanie!" Cal yelled again.

"Don't move!" I ordered the intruder.

"Teams are on their way!" Cal shouted. I barely heard him over the frantic pounding of my own heart.

The black blob moved towards me. "I'll shoot," I warned.

There was a low chuckle. "Sure thing, Babe," a male voice said with contemptuous emphasis on my nickname. The blob moved closer again and I took a deep breath, blinked away the tears of fright and pulled the trigger twice.

There was a cry of pain and a thud as I presumed he fell against the wall or the floor.

I waited another few seconds to see if there was more movement when I heard cursing. I chanced reaching over slowly to turn on my bedside table, keeping my gun firmly pointed in the direction of the stream of foul language.

I blinked in surprise. "You have to be the dumbest son of a bitch on the planet," I told him. "Ranger is going to kick your ass to Timbuktu and I won't even try to stop him this time."

"Cal!" I yelled. "It's Mick! We're in my bedroom! I shot him in the shoulder."

There was a brief second of silence before muted cursing. "Roger, Steph. Shoot him again if he even thinks about moving!" Cal told me. Sounded like a good plan.

Mick groaned, his left hand clutching to his blood right shoulder and chest. It looked like I'd caught him a few inches over from his shoulder but unfortunately I didn't hit him dead center, where I was aiming. Considering I was shooting blind in the dark, I thought the fact that I hit the asshole at all was pretty damn good. Of course, if I'd known who it was, I'd have shot him in the balls first.

He tried to stand up but slumped against the walls after struggling for only a few seconds to get vertical. Yeah, good luck with that with a hole in your chest.

He was dressed all in black and his dirty blond hair had been dyed black. It looked like he'd gone way overboard with the self-tanner since he was almost glowing orange in the dim light. Guess he'd tried to change his appearance, but the Oompa Loompa look was pretty damn distinctive, if you asked me.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I demanded.

He just stared at me in crazed fury, his blood dripping to my carpet. This will be the second batch of carpet we'll have to replace because of this asshole.

His left hand came away from his wound and started to move towards his waist. I aimed the gun. "You move, I shoot you again. And since I can see you now, I won't just hit you in the shoulder next time."

"You bitch," he snarled. "You ruined my life!"

"I didn't do anything to you, you're the one who tried to rape me! And kind of stupid to be insulting the person with the gun aimed at your head, don't you think?" I retorted. "Probably not a good idea to piss me off more than you already have."

My cell phone started ringing but I wasn't about to take my eyes off the moron in front of me to find it and answer it. It sounded like it was coming from under the bed, so I assumed I'd knocked it under there during my swan dive.

"Hands up, both of them," I demanded.

He glared at me. "I'm not kidding, you asshole. If both your hands aren't where I can see them in two seconds, I will shoot you again."

"Like you could kill me," he said with scorn dripping from his words.

I laughed mirthlessly. "You must not have paid much attention to the guys. This is not the first time I've been in this situation. The other two bastards are dead and I'm still alive. You want to be unlucky number three?"

His eyes widened slightly at that. "Hands up, asswipe. Now!" I ordered.

"I'll kill you," he threatened.

"You're not in position to threaten me," I said with mock confidence. I planned to fake it until I believed it myself. Or until the cavalry arrived.

He grimaced in pain but slowly raised his hands to where I could barely see them over the mussed blankets.

I watched him eagle-eyed for what felt like an eternity but was probably only a couple of minutes. Cal warned me that the teams were in place just before I heard my front door crash open.

Mick the moron reached for his gun as the men in black rushed into my bedroom. My ears rang as shots burst from all directions, including from the gun in my hand.

Then I was tackled and tucked under about four hundred pounds of muscle. It was either Ranger or an elephant. I wasn't sure which it was yet, but the lingering scent of Bulgari had me leaning towards Ranger.

Even before my ears had stopped ringing and I had reinflated my lungs after Ranger squashed them empty, hands were running up and down my body. Normally, I would never object to Ranger running his hands all over me, but I couldn't breathe.

"Babe!" Ranger whispered into my ear. "Are you alright?"

His voice was frantic and I wanted to answer, but I had no oxygen in my lungs, which meant I couldn't make a sound. My lips were opening and closing like a fish. You couldn't fault me for trying but nothing was coming out.

"Brown!" Ranger yelled.

I heard muttered curses and pounding footsteps. Somehow, Ranger had managed to roll us so I was up wedged against the wall and his body was between Mick and me, and he was clutching me like I was his teddy bear. So Bobby and Lester had to lift him off of me before I could breathe.

Bobby took one look at me and paled, which takes talent for such a dark-skinned guy.

I was surprised that I still couldn't breath even though I wasn't being squashed anymore. I tried to suck in a breath but I couldn't seem to be able to get enough oxygen. The world was starting to go a little fuzzy around the edges.

"Oh shit, Beautiful!" Lester whispered as he looked at me in horror. Ranger simply stared at me with what I was almost sure were tears in his eyes. Shit. This could not be good.

"Babe," he cried as he grabbed my hand.

The world was turning pink, which I found strange. Normally it went gray when I was about to pass out. Of course, the fact that I'm so familiar with the symptoms of passing out was also disturbing.

Then Bobby pressed a bandage the size of a beach towel against my head. Oh shit, I must have been hit somehow.

I stared into Ranger's molten eyes. I could hear Bobby barking out orders and I felt my body being moved to give Bobby more room to work. I think I was breathing a little bit by now, but it apparently wasn't enough, as things kept getting more and more fuzzy.

I struggled to make my lips work. It felt like it took forever but I was finally able to mouth 'I love you' to Ranger. He swallowed hard a few times before clenching my hand more tightly. "I love you, too, Babe," he told me, his Spanish accent growing thick. "But don't you dare die on me!"

I tried to smile at him but I'm not sure how successful I was. I squeezed his hand instead. Then the world went bright pink, then black.

_**Author's note: **_

_I'm sorry for not posting last week. One of my students died very unexpectedly last weekend and I just couldn't quite find the motivation to write fiction after that. _

_Ironically, his name was Sam but he was a wonderfully sweet and smart guy and he will be missed. He was only 21 with his whole life ahead of him. Such a shame._

_Now, on to less sad topics: _

_When Ranger and Stephanie finally get their time away alone, smut or no smut? Please let me know your opinion!_

_As always, reviews are appreciated!_


	86. Chapter 86

_**Chapter 86**_

I was trying to move my arm to shut off the damn beeping alarm clock, but my arm felt like it weighed a ton. The beeping was making nuts so it really needs to shut the hell up right now. My head felt like the little gnome from the travel commercials was swinging a pick ax in my brain. It felt like I was coming off the hangover from hell, and the noise needed to stop. Immediately.

"Babe," I heard Ranger calling. "Stephanie, open your eyes."

I tried, I really did. But my eyes didn't work.

"Stephanie," I heard him repeat. "Please, Babe," he begged.

Aw crap, I can never resist when he says please. It took a few agonizingly long minutes before my eyelids finally obeyed the open sesame command.

I blinked a few times and focused on Ranger's face hovering above me. "Hi," I croaked and then he had the brightest, most beautiful smile on his face.

"Hi, Babe," he said with relief in his voice. "Welcome back."

I blinked at him. "Where'd I go?" I managed past the giant lump in my parched throat.

Ranger's face just smiled at me briefly before it was shoved aside by Bobby's face. This whole floating face thing was trippy. Had I been hanging out with Mooner and Dougie again?

"Wha?" I tried to say as bright lights began to dance in front of my eyes.

"How you feeling, Bomber?" Bobby finally asked after he finished shining the light into my eyes.

"Like hell," I muttered.

Bobby grinned at me. "I imagine so," he agreed.

I grimaced. "Water?" I asked.

"Just a little sip," Bobby cautioned as he poured about a thimble's worth of water into my mouth. It wasn't even enough to reach my throat since my mouth was so dry. So I opened my mouth again.

After a few seconds, there was another tiny bit of water. It was the best tasting water in the history of the world but Scrooge, aka Bobby, wasn't sharing much of his magic water. I swallowed the meager water and opened my mouth again. I repeated this multiple times until I finally felt like the sandpaper in my throat was gone.

I opened my eyes again and stared at Ranger and Bobby. "What happened?"

Ranger's eyes narrowed and I'd have sworn he growled. Bobby just grinned reassuringly at me. "You'll be fine, Bomber," he assured me.

Great, that's good to know. But what the hell happened? I narrowed my eyes at Bobby and he seemed to get the idea.

"Do you remember the break in at your apartment? Mick?" he asked me.

Talk about déjà vu. I nodded ever so slightly.

"He managed to get off one shot and it grazed your head. You've been out for about a day," Bobby told me.

"Mick?" I asked.

Bobby's face went blank. "He won't bother you again."

Oh shit!

I shifted my gaze to Ranger, my eyes wide in anxiety. "He wouldn't put down the gun," Ranger explained. "Once he pulled the trigger, pretty much everyone fired back in self defense. So there's probably no way to tell who fired the fatal shot. And we've already talked to the cops and it will be ruled self-defense in a home invasion once they've got your statement. But we have audio from the security system so it's pretty open and shut."

I blinked at him, trying to take it all in.

"Proud of you, Babe," he told me with a slight smile. "You did good."

Before I could say anything, Bobby was pushed aside by a smiling woman in green scrubs. "Good afternoon, Miss Plum," she said cheerfully. "How are we feeling?"

Unless you're the freaking Queen of England, don't use the royal we. There is me, and there is you. And you are entirely too chirpy while I feel like shit. "Crappy," I replied.

She just smiled at me. "I'm sure," she said. Then she was poking and prodding me for what felt like approximately a year. "I'll just go call your doctor with an update. Don't go anywhere!"

Yeah, cause I had planned to run the Boston Marathon today.

I reached up with a shaky hand to try to feel my head but Bobby caught my hand. "Don't want to mess up your bandage," he said when I turned a questioning gaze at him.

I nodded softly and closed my eyes, feeling exhausted. I must have dozed back off because the next thing I remember was Ranger calling out my name again.

"Ranger, I love you," I whispered over the demonic gnomes, "and I never thought I'd say this to you, but you have got to be quieter."

I heard him chuckle and then I was back asleep.

Then he was shaking me gently and repeating my name insistently. I finally drug open one eye to glare at him. "Shh!" I ordered.

His face lit up as he smiled at me. "Doctor's here, Babe."

If the doctor has drugs, fine, step right up, doc. But if you won't give me drugs to silence the gnome with a jackhammer in my skull, then leave me the hell alone.

"Drugs," I told the doctor. "Need drugs."

He grinned at me. "I promise I'll give you something for the headache as soon as I check you over, okay?"

Not like I have a whole lot of choice here. "'Kay," I replied.

He poked and prodded and asked a whole lot of redundant questions that made me want to smack him, if I had that much energy, which I didn't. At the end of his torture session, he smiled at me.

"You're doing very well for a woman shot in the head less than twenty-four hours ago," he told me.

Guess that hard head came in handy for something.

I must have said that out loud because Ranger and Bobby started chuckling at me and the doctor just smiled. "I suppose so," the doctor agreed. "I'll have the nurse give you some painkillers so you can rest. I'll be back to visit first thing tomorrow morning, and you can go home then if you're feeling up to it."

"I want to go home now," I told him.

The doctor frowned. "No, I think we need to watch you one more night," he told me.

"Bobby can watch me," I tried to argue.

"Bomber, you need to stay here one more night," Bobby said. "Then I'll be happy to watch you after that."

I sighed. "Please, Babe?" Ranger asked.

"Fine," I grumped. "But I need happy pills and a Big Mac."

Everyone grinned. "How about happy IV medicine and some pudding?" the doctor tried to bargain.

"Yes to the happy drugs of any kind, and what kind of pudding?" I asked slowly and softly, trying not to piss of the gnomes in my head any further.

Bobby burst out laughing. "If she's hungry, you know she's recovering."

I glared a little at Bobby. My head hurt and talking made it hurt more, so I closed my eyes again. I didn't fall back asleep but just listened to Bobby and the doctor talk in medical-ese about my head. I don't speak that language so I didn't learn too much new stuff.

"She's going to be fine, right?" asked an anxious Ranger. I was too tired to open my eyes to see who he was talking to.

"I think so," the doctor replied. "She woke up and was aware of everything, even though she was a little cranky."

Hey, I'd been shot in the freaking HEAD! I think I'm entitled to be a little bit cranky.

There was a low chuckle. "She doesn't really like hospitals," Bobby said. No shit, Sherlock.

"With the concussion, I'm sure she has one hell of a headache," the doctor continued. "Now that we know she has normal cognitive abilities, I'll give her something to help."

Oh hallelujah!

"She looks a bit pale still, so I'll also check her blood levels. From what you said, she bled at lot at the scene and she might need a little help to get her blood count back up. The nurses can reach me if you have questions or if there are any problems, but otherwise I'll see you tomorrow morning," the doctor said.

I'd always heard that head wounds bled like no tomorrow, and I guess that was true based on what the doctor just said. Guess that explained why the guys were so freaked out when they saw me.

The doctor left then and I felt Ranger pick up my hand and hold it. It took a lot of effort, but I opened my eyes and studied him. He looked like shit, honestly. He was in his usual RangeMan uniform of tight black t-shirt and black cargos, but they were more wrinkled and rumpled than I'd ever seen on Ranger. His eyes were closed and he looked completely exhausted. His normally mocha latte skin was more of a gray color now and that worried me.

I squeezed his hand to get his attention. "Babe," he said immediately, opening his eyes and leaning forward. "What's wrong?"

"Other than the bongos in my head, I'm fine. But you don't look so fine. Why don't you head back to Haywood and get some rest," I suggested softly.

His eyes narrowed slightly. "Not until you're coming home with me."

"You need some rest too," I tried again.

"I'll be fine."

I sighed softly. "Bobby?" I called softly.

"Yeah, Bomber?"

"Make him go take a shower and get something to eat at least."

I got a half smile from Ranger. "What makes you think he can make me do anything?" Ranger asked softly.

"Because you're no dummy and you'll listen to your medic when he tells you to do something before you get sick," I said with absolute conviction even though I had to speak quietly. "Hopefully they'll give me something to help my head and it'll probably put me to sleep. So you can get a shower and eat your rabbit food even if you won't go get real sleep. Please?"

Ranger stared at me for a long few seconds while I tried desperately to ignore the almost overwhelming pain in my head. Finally, he nodded.

"Once you're asleep," he agreed. I tried to smile and laboriously turned to look at Bobby.

"You too," I told him. He looked somewhat better than Ranger but not by much. He nodded.

I closed my eyes again, the dim light in the room more than I could handle at the moment. After a while, the chipper nurse came back in and woke me out of my light slumber. She fiddled around with the IV in my left hand before finally leaving me alone in my misery.

"Steph, she just gave you some happy drugs, so you should start to feel better soon," Bobby said. "You might get really sleepy, but don't fight it. Just go to sleep."

I squeezed Ranger's hand in acknowledgement. "She squeezed my hand," Ranger told Bobby. "I think she understands."

When I woke up again, I knew someone was holding my hand but I didn't think it was Ranger. I slowly turned my head to see Lester watching me intently, worry evident in his green eyes.

"Hi," I whispered. My head still hurt but it wasn't nearly as bad as before.

"Hi, Beautiful. You don't know how happy I am to see your pretty blue eyes," Lester said as he squeezed my hand. "Don't scare us like that!"

"Sorry," I said in a bit louder voice. "Where's Ranger and Bobby?"

"Cafeteria. Do you want me to call them?" he asked me with uncertainity in his voice.

"God no. Let them rest a little," I said as my eyelids started to droop again. "Thanks for staying with me," I said.

"Always," Lester said as my eyes closed and I went back to sleep.

When I woke up the next time, Ranger was calling my name again. "Huh?" I asked groggily.

I opened my eyes to see the doctor smiling down at me. "Hi," I croaked.

"Good morning. How are you feeling?" he asked.

I took a moment to do a self-inventory. "Head still hurts some but it's not too bad. I'm really thirsty, though," I told him.

He reached for the bedside controls. "Can I sit you up a little?"

I nodded and then winced when it hurt a little.

Dr. Eagle Eyes noticed. "That hurt?"

"Just a little. I wasn't expecting it," I replied.

Then the head of my bed started to move and I squeezed Ranger's hand a little as the shift in my position made my head pound a little harder for a moment before it eased back off.

Bobby held a pink plastic up with a straw near my mouth. I latched onto the straw and greedily sucked down the ice water.

"Better?" Bobby asked.

"Yeah. Thanks," I replied.

Then the doctor poked and prodded and asked a million questions before he finally stepped back. "If you're able to keep down breakfast, you can go home. If you have any nausea or vomiting, we probably need to keep an eye on you for a little longer to make sure everything is healing as it should," he told me.

I was just excited about breakfast and the prospect of going home. "Okay," I agreed.

Bobby walked out with the doctor and I looked over at Ranger. He looked slightly more rested but still not up to his usual standard.

"How are you?" I asked him.

I got a smile. "Better now that I know you're okay," he told me as he pressed a kiss to my forehead.

"Morelli is here to take your statement, if you feel up to it," Ranger told me. "Or I'll get rid of him if you're not."

"No, it's okay," I said. "I'd rather get it over with."

Ranger nodded and then stepped out for a minute or two. I opened my eyes again when I heard footsteps and saw Joe following Ranger into my room.

"Christ, Cupcake!" he exclaimed. "That was a close one."

I just nodded slightly and Joe came over and picked up my right hand. "How are you feeling?" he asked as he kissed my cheek. I think I heard Ranger growl slightly but I just tried to ignore it.

"Tired mostly," I said in answer to his question.

"You okay to do this now or you want me to come back later?" Joe asked.

"Now."

Joe nodded and dropped my hand as he pulled out a notebook from his coat pocket. I went over everything that happened and Joe dutifully took notes. He almost broke his pen when I described Mick's attack on me. A quick glance at Ranger showed his blank face but I could see a muscle in his jaw twitching. He didn't like that part any more than I did.

Once I'd described the scene at my apartment, Joe just shook his head. "How the hell did you know he was there in the first place?" he asked.

I shrugged. "My Spidey senses tingling woke me up," I replied. Joe laughed and even Ranger cracked a smile.

"Good thing," Joe said. "He put a bullet in the bed as you rolled away. If you hadn't moved when you did, we wouldn't be having this talk."

I stared at Joe in horror before looking over at Ranger. Ranger growled at Joe. "Did you really have to tell her that?" Ranger snarled as he stepped forward and held my hand, casting dangerously evil glares at Joe.

Joe cleared his throat a time or two before finally shrugging. "Figured she'd want to know, might help her to feel better about how things ended."

Joe asked a few more questions before telling me it would probably be a day or two before the police were done with my apartment, and a couple of days after that before the clean up crews would have it ready for me. He offered me his guest room, but Ranger simply narrowed his eyes at Joe.

"She'll stay with me," Ranger said in an implacable tone.

Joe just stared him down. "Just giving her another option, Manoso."

I sighed. "Stop it."

They both looked at me. "Thank you for the offer, Joe, but I'm good."

Joe nodded and then stepped up toe to toe with Ranger to lean down a kiss my cheek again. "Call me if you need anything, Cupcake."

I rolled my eyes. Joe was doing this to get on Ranger's nerves, but Ranger had already been though a hell of a lot the last few months and it was probably a dumb move on Joe's part. I didn't think Ranger had a whole lot of patience left but he probably had more than enough cranky stored up to simply rip Joe's head off.

Once Joe left, Ranger told me that my parents and grandma wanted to come see me. I asked for a few minutes to prepare myself before he brought them in. Ranger immediately came back to my side and grabbed my hand. I felt more capable of dealing with my family once he was by my side.

"Stephanie!" my mother exclaimed as soon as she saw him. I tried to reassure everyone that I was okay before my mom launched into a lecture again. "No one else has to worry about their daughter getting shot in the middle of the night!"

I raised my left hand. "Mom," I said firmly despite the lingering headache. "Stop it. I'm not in the mood to handle being told how I'm such a disappointment, so just stop or you can leave." I felt Ranger squeeze my hand and I knew he'd pick my mom up and carry her out himself if he had to.

My mom looked shocked for a moment but I'd have sworn I saw my dad smile at my little outburst. My grandma was definitely smiling.

"Helen, I told you to behave yourself!" grandma said, mimicking my mother's patented blend of exasperation and disapproval. "No one else has to worry about their daughter being a giant horse's patoot when their granddaughter is in the hospital!"

My mom shot a highly pissed glare at my grandma. "Don't like it I do it to you, do you?" grandma asked. Mom's lips firmed and turned white for a second before she turned back to me.

"I'm sorry. I was just worried," mom said begrudgingly, shooting another quick glare at my grandma.

I just nodded. We chatted without incident for another few minutes before an orderly showed up with a covered tray. My dad squeezed my hand before he practically dragged my mother out of the room. My grandma stayed behind for a moment to give me a quick kiss on the forehead before she left too.

I turned to look at Ranger. "Proud of you, Babe," he said as he kissed me on the lips.

I smiled and then took a deep breath and turned towards the tray of food hovering over my lap on the rolling table. "Time to face the music," I said. I was not a big fan of hospital food but I had to eat it to get out of here.

Ranger lifted the lid. There was a big bowl of something gloopy and unidentifiable but I did recognize two cups of gelatin. I'd start with the things I could identify.

Ranger sat by my bed as I ate both gelatin cups and drank the carton of orange juice. I poked carefully at the steaming bowl of brown goop. "Oatmeal, Babe," Ranger told me.

"Are you sure?" I asked him with a shudder. "It doesn't look much like oatmeal."

"At least drink your milk and eat the applesauce," Ranger said. "Then we can discuss the oatmeal."

I shot him an unhappy frown. "I'm not eating that stuff. They can bring me more juice or whatever, but I'm not eating something I can't identify." Ranger sighed and pulled out his cell phone. He typed on it for a minute before turning back to me.

"Bobby will talk with the nurse," he said as he opened the carton of chocolate milk. I drank it and ate the bland applesauce. A nurse walked in a moment later.

"I hear you're not a fan of the oatmeal," she said with a smile.

"I'm not sure what it is," I told her, "but I'm definitely not a fan!"

She smiled at me. "I don't blame you. Mr. Brown is bringing you some yogurt and fruit. If you eat that, I'll tell your doctor you ate all of your breakfast. Deal?"

"Deal!" I liked her. She winked at me and smiled professionally at Ranger before she started taking my vital signs and asking me questions. That made me like her even more. Most women would have completely ignored me to focus on Ranger.

"I'm sorry, sir," she said a moment later. "But I need you to step out for just a minute."

Ranger glared at her. "Why?" he asked in a low and dangerous tone.

She just rolled her eyes at him. "Because I need to remove her catheter and almost every woman in the world would rather that be private."

I had to bite back a grin at the sudden look of horror on Ranger's face before he pulled up his blank face. He squeezed my hand and hightailed it out of my room. Despite all the dangerous shit I'd faced with Ranger by my side, I don't think I'd ever seen the man move that fast.

I grinned at the nurse. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," she said as she pulled on gloves and got her materials situated. I had to assume the position while she poked around under the blankets before finally telling me she was done.

"I'll need to help you go to the restroom normally before you'll be able to leave," she told me. "So drink up!" she said with a smile as she used her hip to nudge the tray table with the big pitcher of water a little closer. 

I smiled and complied, taking a big gulp of water. She disposed of the trash and washed her hands before walking back outside. Ranger was back within moments, and this time he had Bobby with him.

Bobby handed me a bag from McDonalds. I figured it was my yogurt, so I wasn't surprised to find two fruit and yogurt parfaits inside with another carton of chocolate milk. I ate the rest of my breakfast and settled back against the bed with a sigh.

"Any nausea?" Bobby asked.

I shook my head no. "Just a little tired," I told him. "But I'm good otherwise."

Bobby just nodded but kept a careful eye on me as I fiddled with my blankets.

After fidgeting for a couple of minutes, I looked over at Ranger. "How did the earlier take down go?" I asked.

He gave me a half smile. "Fine. We'd just dropped him off at the station when we got the alert from your panic button, so we were already ready to roll."

"I wondered how you'd gotten there so fast," I told him. "Anyone else hurt?"

"No," Bobby said. "Other than a few cardiac events when we got the page from the control room and saw you bleeding. I think Cal nearly had a stroke that he couldn't dive through the alarm system to get to you, but everyone else is fine."

I smiled. I loved my guys! "I'm glad everyone's okay. Sorry I worried you. I must have looked pretty scary for you guys to freak out like that."

Ranger just nodded. Bobby chuckled slightly. "Head wounds bleed like a bitch, so yeah, you scared the shit out of us. We're just glad you do have a hard head!"

I smiled at Bobby. "Had to be useful for something, I guess."

My eyes started to droop again. "Sleepy, Bomber?" Bobby asked.

I nodded. "That's normal after a blow to the head like you had. Just go back to sleep for a while." Worked for me.

I woke up an hour or two later and needed to go to the bathroom after drinking all the juice and milk. The nurse helped me and said she'd start on my discharge instructions now that she knew I was bouncing back.

An hour after that, I was in the elevator on my way home.

_**Author's note:**__ So Stephanie and Ranger are on their way back home. Next we'll see their vacation together, and the vote so far has been for smut. I'll see what I can come up with!_

_Thank you for the wonderful reviews. It's such an amazing feeling to read them knowing that someone read and actually enjoyed (well, usually!) my writing. Keep 'em coming, feedback is greatly appreciated!_


	87. Chapter 87

_**Chapter 87**_

We pulled into the underground garage at the RangeMan building and Ranger was instantly at my side to help me out of the SUV. Bobby was in front of us, already holding open the elevator doors.

Ranger kept his arm around me as I stepped in. "Straight to seven, or do you want to say hello to the guys first?" he asked.

I looked at him. "Five first," I said firmly. Ranger just nodded and stepped protectively in front of me. When the elevator doors opened, the guys were fighting for space around the elevator doors.

"Am I glad to see you, Beautiful!" Lester said as he grabbed my hand and squeezed it. I smiled at him and squeezed back. I said hi to a couple of guys before the noise and glare from the fluorescent lights awakened the evil gnomes in my head. Ranger being Ranger, of course he used his Batman ESP to tell when I'd had enough and he whisked me back into the elevator to the seventh floor.

Ah, silence. It was like my own little slice of heaven.

Ella, goddess that she is, had left actual food that could be identified on the table for me. Have I mentioned how much I love her? If I haven't, I love Ella more than words can describe.

Ranger and I ate the soup and sandwiches waiting on us. I was drooping again, so Ranger simply scooped me up in his arms and carried me into the bedroom.

"No," I said as he tried to tuck blankets around me. "I need the bathroom first."

"Can't it wait, Babe?" he said. His voice sounded slightly panicked.

I drug my eyelids open to look at him suspiciously. "Why? What's wrong with the bathroom?" I asked.

"Nothing," he replied. Too quickly.

"What haven't you told me?" I asked, starting to wake up.

Ranger stared at me for a moment before he blew out a breath. "They had to cut your hair."

My hand shot to the massive bandage still swathing the left side of my head. "What?"

"Where the bullet creased your skull. To sew up it, they had to cut off some of your hair."

Oh holy shit. What had they done to my hair?

I sat up and Ranger's arm was instantly around me to support me. I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and got to my feet, my hand still clasped to my bandaged head. Ranger sighed softly but I was dead set on getting to the bathroom and checking my hair. Guess that's why they had no mirrors in the bathroom at the hospital, they didn't want me to have a stroke when I saw what they did to my hair.

I was in front of the mirror and was unwrapping the bandages when Ranger put his hands over mine and paused them for a minute. I cast him an inquiring glance and he leaned so that I was trapped between his bulk and the vanity. Normally that would leave me breathless, but now I was too anxious to see the damage.

"Just remember, your hair doesn't matter," he said as he kissed me gently on the back of my neck.

Oh crap, that means it's really, really bad.

I nodded at Ranger and then sucked in a deep breath as I finished unwinding the bandage. Ranger wrapped his arms around my waist, presumable because he knew I'd faint once I saw the mangled remains of my head.

The last few inches of bandage dropped away and I could see my hair in all its heinous glory.

About three inches above my left ear there was a shaved space about two inches wide that stretched across the side of my head. I gasped in horror and then reached up to touch my Frankenstein head. The stitches were small but still pretty obvious, their black lines standing in contrast to my shaved head and pale skin.

I felt the tears form in my eyes and I fought to not let them fall.

It was just hair. I just kept reminding myself. It's just hair. Just hair.

Just hair.

Ranger's arms tightened around me. "It'll be okay, Babe," he said

I bit down on my lip to keep from crying. I'd never considered myself the most vain person in the world, that honor goes to Joyce Barhnardt, but still. Seeing my head like this was shocking.

I gave myself a pep talk. If the bullet had been another half inch to the side, I'd be dead or at least in a world of hurt. It was just hair. It would grow out. Eventually. Maybe even before the next ice age.

One tear popped out and slid down my cheek. Ranger cursed softly under his breath and pulled me even tighter against his chest. He pressed a kiss to the side of my head just under the giant meandering scar. "I know it doesn't look good, but you're still alive. That's all that matters."

I sniffled. "I know. And I'm sorry for getting all weepy. But I can't help it."

"Babe."

I sucked in a shuddering breath. "I'll be okay. Just give me a minute and I'll be okay."

Ranger nodded but I could tell he didn't believe it. I tried to smile reassuringly. Not sure how successful I was. "Just give me a minute alone."

His arms tightened around me. That was a no.

"Seriously, I have to use the bathroom. And I'm not doing that with an audience."

That got the thinking about smiling smile. "Two minutes," he said as he stepped back and closed the door. If I knew Ranger, and I was pretty sure I did, he had his ear pressed against the door and his delightfully massive muscles poised to jump into the bathroom if I made any kind of noise that could be construed as crying.

I took one last look in the mirror before taking care of business. I figured my two minutes would go fast and I didn't want to be found in an awkward position when Ranger came back in.

There was a perfunctory knock before the doorknob started to open. I was standing in front of the sink washing my hands. I smiled at Ranger. "I'll be okay. It was just a surprise. But you're taking me to see Mr. Alexander as soon as possible!"

There was a slight furrow to Ranger's brow. "Who?" he asked suspiciously.

"My hairdresser. At the mall."

His eyebrows went up slightly and I knew he was thinking that there was really no hope. I knew that was probably true, but something had to be done. I was not going to walk around looking like this for the six months or more it would take for my hair to grow back.

Ranger just invaded my space. His arms grasped my shoulders and turned me so we were face to face. And then chest-to-chest as he leaned forward so that we were touching from knees to chest. "I'll do whatever you need," he said with his lips a millimeter from mine. "I'm just so damn relived that you're okay. If I have to take you to the mall, then so be it."

Then his lips were on mine. My head was spinning and it wasn't just from my near fatal head wound. Just as I was really starting to get into the kiss, he pulled back and efficiently re-bandaged my head. Then he swept me up and carried me back to the bed.

"No excuses this time," he said in a 'don't mess with me' tone as he tucked the blankets around me. I was too tired to even want to argue so I just smiled at him and pulled him down next to me.

"If it's naptime for me, then it's naptime for you. I've probably slept a heck of a lot more than you have," I told him.

His lips quirked into a smile and then he kicked off his boots and peeled off his rumpled t-shirt and cargo pants. I grinned at him as he slid into the bed completely naked.

"I'm too tired to do anything right now," I said as I snuggled up against him. "But that will give me very nice dreams."

I felt his chest rumble as he chuckled. Then I was out.

When I woke up the next time, I started to sit up before the massive pounding made me gasp aloud. Ranger sat up by my side. "Babe?"

I felt nauseous from the intense pounding in my skull. I lifted one shaky hand towards my head. "Hurting?" he asked, completely and totally unnecessarily.

I could only blink at him.

He grabbed his cell phone. "Get up here now," he said in his no nonsense voice. He slid behind me and helped to hold me up. He wrapped his arms around me and was whispering softly in Spanish as he held onto me for dear life.

Bobby came in a minute later at a dead run, Lester hard on his heels. Bobby was by my side in an instant. "How bad, scale of one to ten?"

"Fourteen," I whispered. Bobby frowned and pulled out his med bag. He shined a light in my eyes and had me follow his fingers as he moved it around. Then he pulled on gloves and wrapped a tourniquet around my forearm. Lester crawled on the bed and held my arm steady for Bobby, who found a vein in my hand and injected a syringe of medicine. I really hoped it was happy juice and I really, really hoped it was fast acting happy juice.

After a few agonizingly long minutes, the pain started to subside and I relaxed a little. "Starting to ease off a little," I told the three anxious men hovering over me.

I felt Ranger's breath against my neck as he blew out a relieved sigh. Bobby smiled and Lester pressed a kiss to the non-injured side of my head.

"How you feeling now, Beautiful?" Lester said softly.

"Less like I'm about to die. I sat up and my head started pounding and I thought I was going to be sick," I said very softly, mostly to Bobby.

Bobby had already wrapped blood pressure cuff around my arm while I'd been trying not to puke all over Ranger's nice, clean bed. He rechecked my blood pressure and pulse. "BP probably spiked when you sat up. Your body is still recovering from everything. And you lost a lot of blood, and that was a big shock to your system. So try to take it easy with going from lying down to sitting or standing, okay?"

I nodded ever so slightly. It was the best I could manage.

Ranger eased back and he and Lester lowered me back down against the bed. "Thanks, guys," I said quietly. "Sorry to scare you. Again."

I yawned wide enough that my jaw almost fell off. When my eyes reopened, Bobby and Lester were grinning at me. Ranger still looked slightly anxious.

"Sleepy drugs?" I mumbled to Bobby.

He nodded. "Yeah, knock your ass out in five minutes sleepy drugs," Bobby confirmed.

"'Kay. Night," I whispered.

When I woke up the next time, Ranger had dragged his office chair into the corner of the bedroom. I opened my eyes and he was staring at me. I jumped when I saw him since it was more than a little creepy.

"Um, hi?" I whispered in confusion. I started to sit up and he was there to help me.

"Hi, Babe. Move slowly."

I sat up more slowly and didn't feel the need to puke. Good, we're making progress.

"Feeling okay?" Ranger asked.

"Yeah," I said as I let myself acclimate to being vertical again. "I'm good."

He helped me out of the bed and then I shuffled towards the bathroom. As soon as I stepped into view, Bobby and Lester popped up off the couch like a pair of demented jack in the box puppets.

They rushed to me so I had three scary badasses creeping along at my old lady pace with me. I started to giggle and they all froze and looked at me like I'd lost my mind. Lester turned to Bobby. "What's wrong with her?" he asked in a slightly panicked voice.

I giggled again and Bobby looked perplexed. "You in pain, Bomber?" he asked.

I just kept giggling, I couldn't stop.

"Babe?" Ranger asked in confusion.

I sucked in a breath and tried to make myself stop giggling before my three guys lost their minds with worry. "Just funny, you three big scary dudes being my nurses. If only Stark Street could see you like this!"

Lester chuckled a little and both Bobby and Ranger had relieved smiles on their faces. "Babe, people from Stark Street would need the nurses if they laughed at us like that," Ranger told me. I believed it.

"Good thing you love me then?" I asked.

I got the big Ranger smile. "Yes."

I smiled and then turned to close the bathroom door. "This is an individual sport, fellas," I said as I closed the door in their faces.

I heard Lester laughing as I shuffled to the toilet.

I came back out a couple of minutes later to find Ranger leaning against the wall. Lester and Bobby were back on the couch. Ranger wrapped one arm around my shoulder and we crept to the couch. Ranger shot a glare at Lester, so Les popped off the couch and gave me a place to sit down.

I smiled my thanks at Lester as I sank gratefully to the couch.

Bobby knelt in front of me and made me follow his fingers with my eyes again. I passed the test and I hadn't even studied!

Bobby finally grinned at me. "You're doing pretty good, Bomber," he finally said. "Feeling better?"

I nodded. "Yeah, don't have the urge to puke anymore. Thanks for my happy drugs."

Bobby tucked one of my remaining curls back behind my right ear. "You're welcome."

I leaned back against Ranger's yummy chest. "Can I try to eat something?" I asked Bobby.

"Yeah, something easy on your stomach. Let me call Ella," Bobby said as he popped up and grabbed his cell phone.

"Hey, Beautiful, Tina's going to have my balls if I don't call and let her talk to you," Lester said. "She came to the hospital but you were asleep. She wants to talk to you herself and make sure you're alright."

"Yeah, call her," I said as I snuggled into my own personal heater, also known as Ranger Manoso. Lester whipped out his phone. Within seconds, I could hear Tina screeching at Lester. He held the phone far away from his head.

"Baby," he tried but obviously failed since I could still hear Tina wailing from five feet away.

"Baby," he said again a minute later. "Tina, baby, she's fine. She's right here."

He thrust the phone at me and I took it with a grin. "Hey Tina," I said.

"Oh my God, what the hell happened? Are you okay?" she practically shouted at me.

I had to hold the phone away from my head too. "I'm alright. Bobby just checked me out again. I'm fine," I had to reassure her.

"What the hell happened?"

I frowned for a second. "Mick showed up at my apartment. He got off a lucky shot just as the men in black took him down." I wasn't happy that Mick had been killed but I couldn't work up too much sadness over it. He'd come damn close to taking me out with him.

There was a brief pause. "Are you okay?" she asked more softly.

"Yeah. Or I will be. Once my hair grows out."

"Oh, God. What did they do to your hair?" she asked.

"Had to shave part of the side of my head."

There was a horrified pause. "Good thing hats are in this year," she finally said.

I had to smile at her optimism. "I'll make Ranger take me shopping. You can take Les shopping for some early Christmas presents for me."

"Will do. You get some sleep, I'll come see you in a day or two once you've had a chance to rest. Call me if you need anything before that."

"Okay. Here's Les," I said as I handed the phone back to Lester.

"What am I taking you shopping for?" Ranger whispered into my ear.

"Hats. Lots and lots of hats."

He kissed the side of my neck. I shivered involuntarily. "We can do that," he assured me.

I kept myself wrapped in Ranger's arms until Bobby came back a minute later. Lester was standing in the corner of the room with an aggrieved look on his face. I was guessing that Tina was giving him hell about not telling her everything that had gone on.

"Ella will bring up dinner in a few minutes," Bobby told us.

I had dinner with the guys before Bobby checked me yet again and then gave me a big ol' pile of pills to swallow. I grimaced but started working my way through the horse pills. I finished them all and Bobby gave me an approving nod.

"You still need a lot of rest to recuperate," Bobby told me. "So you should go lay back down now. Even if you don't sleep, you need to rest."

Ranger simply stood and held out his hand commandingly to me. I took it with a roll of my eyes as he pulled me to my feet. I tugged my hand out of his and went over to hug both Bobby and Lester first. "Thanks guys," I told them. Bobby simply grinned but Lester kissed my cheek very gently.

As I turned around, Ranger held his hand out again and I took it and trailed along behind him as he very determinedly towed me towards the bedroom.

I was in one of Ranger's t-shirts and tucked into his million thread sheets in no time flat. No muss, no fuss, and no arguing with Ranger once Bobby said I needed to rest. This was one argument I had no chance in hell of winning, so I didn't even bother.

I dozed off and on for a while with Ranger watching me from the corner in his office chair. I'd finally convinced him to at least get his laptop so he could get some work done if he wouldn't nap with me, but it took some hard bargaining. I think Ranger now owns my soul, but I know he'll take very good care of it.

Bobby woke me up a bit later to ask me inane questions and poke around at my stitched together skull. Then he gave me more pills to take, which I did begrudgingly, since Bobby had woken me from a very delicious dream about a naked Ranger.

Ranger walked out of the bedroom with Bobby and I couldn't hear their conversation. Then Ranger was back in the bedroom stripping off his clothes. My mouth went dry and I don't think it was from the drugs!

He was back a few minutes later, his hair slicked back away from his face and his thin black silk boxers clinging faithfully to mocha latte skin still damp from his shower.

He climbed into the bed and gathered me gently into his arms as he spooned against me. The smell of Bulgari and Ranger nearly made me swoon. "Goodnight, Babe. I'm right here if you need anything," he whispered to me as he brushed a kiss against the back of my neck.

"Thanks for taking such good care of me," I whispered back. I'm not sure why I whispered but it seemed the right thing to do.

"Always."

This was the routine over the next couple of days. Someone was always with me, usually Ranger. When he had a meeting that he couldn't skip, then Bobby or Lester was generally by my side.

Tina had kept her promise and had come to visit. She had about a dozen different styles and colors of hats, caps and scarves with her. We spent a couple of hours chatting and playing with the various hats. I hadn't made it to see Mr. Alexander yet and I was very self conscious about the unsightly scar and my missing hair, so it was nice to have hats to cover the bare spots once Bobby had deemed it unnecessary to keep the sutures covered with bandages all the time.

I still tired easily, but Bobby promised me that it would start getting better soon. That was good news because I was about to go nuts trapped in Ranger's apartment. I was just excited that I didn't have to spend 75% of time either in bed or on the couch. Although time spent in bed with Ranger was more fun than hanging out on the couch with Lester watching Ghostbusters.

Ranger was still being very overprotective with me, not that I could really blame him all that much. But going to the mall with Tina also involved having heavily armed men, Ranger, Lester and Bobby, hovering over us the entire time.

Tina and I chose to be amused rather than annoyed, but Tina did drag me into Victoria's Secret just to disconcert the guys. It didn't work. Ranger didn't give a crap what store we were in, he was in hyper-vigilant bodyguard mode and was more concerned with keeping everyone at least twenty feet from me at all times. Lester more than made up for Ranger's preoccupation by making all kinds of off-color comments until Bobby practically gave Les his own concussion by slapping him upside the head so much.

I did buy a few items while in Victoria's Secret. Ranger and I would eventually have a week together even if I had to get Bobby to drug him so I could kidnap his ass.

As feared, there wasn't much Mr. Alexander could do to salvage my hairstyle. Arranging my hair over the bare spots left me looking like a bald man trying desperately to fake it with a bad comb over. So in the end, he trimmed all of my hair to be quite short, so my curls were only a few inches long. The surgical site was still conspicuous but at least it wasn't quite as bad against long, dark hair. And thankfully the hats Tina had brought me covered it up for the most part, and the average mall people watcher probably wouldn't even notice the Franken-scar under a raspberry beret or Ranger's SEAL cap.

My self esteem started to improve once I'd had my hair fixed as much as possible. Armed with a plethora of hats, I started venturing down to the fifth floor. Cal nearly squeezed the life out of me when he first saw me. Bobby had told me how hard it was for Cal to listen to me in trouble and be unable to do anything, so I made sure to spend some time hanging out with him to reassure him that I was fine.

Ranger had dragged me back into the gym after almost two weeks of taking it easy. Damn, it was hard since it had been a while since I'd done anything more than walk around slowly for an hour or so. So spending thirty minutes at a fast walk on the treadmill was more difficult that I thought it would be. Bobby was generally there to supervise, but Ranger pushed me until just right before the point where I'd punch him in the nose and shove the treadmill key down his throat.

Finally, it was the day of my last- hopefully!- appointments with the neurologist and the plastic surgeon who had sewn up my head. Ranger and I drove together in his Turbo and Bobby came separately in his black SUV.

We met with the plastic surgeon first, and she was happy with how the scar was healing.

"I tried to keep the scar as minimal as possible, but probably your hair won't grow back on the suture line. But since you have such lovely thick hair, I doubt anyone other than your stylist will ever notice," she told me after poking at my head for a while. She removed the sutures and told me to basically have a nice life. I liked her.

Then we went to the other side of town to see the neurologist. I got poked and prodded some more but once again, the doctor was pleased with my progress. I was ordered to avoid anything that could potentially cause any head injuries for a while, but otherwise I was fine for normal activies. So no contact sports for a while.

I was going to include bounty hunting as a contact sport, so I'd probably stick wit the office side of things at RangeMan. I was good at it, I enjoyed it (most of the time) and I didn't want to have any more of my hair shaved off.

I was actually pretty tired from hurrying up and waiting all day, but Ranger seemed fresh as a daisy. Well, fresh as a Cuban badass ex-Army Ranger mercenary security expert. Bobby gave me a high five once I cleared all the tests and then left.

Ranger took me out to a nice dinner at a little Cuban restaurant on the outskirts of town. It was delicious and it was nice to get a peek at Ranger's heritage.

After I thoroughly enjoyed my flan for dessert, we headed back home. Or so I thought.

I'm not the most attentive when it comes to driving, so I wasn't paying a ton of attention to where we were going. I just assumed we were going back to the RangeMan building. It took a while before I realized that I had no clue where we were.

"Um, where are we?" I finally asked Ranger.

"Going on a little field trip, Babe," Ranger replied.

Ooh, goody! "To where?"

"It's a surprise. We'll be there soon, just relax a little," he replied as he put his hand on my knee and squeezed.

I stared at him for a minute. "Trust me, Babe," he said.

I sighed. Fine, I did trust him completely, but that didn't help with my nosy side.

True to his word, he pulled to a stop in front of a gate less than fifteen minutes later. He beeped his key fob at the sensor and the gates slid open. He pulled through and I saw the gates sliding closed out the side mirror. After going around a bend in the driveway, we stopped in front of a lovely two-story house.

"Where are we?" I asked, started to get excited as my Spidey senses sprang to life.

Ranger didn't answer, just emerging fluidly from the low-slung sports car and coming over to open my door. I accepted his help out and gazed in wonder at the large house in front of me.

Ranger pulled me into his arms and pressed a passionate kiss to my eager lips. "Welcome to the Batcave, Babe."

I knew it! I squealed in delight and flung my arms around his neck as I kissed him back with everything I had.

Ranger pulled back and grinned at me. "Are we staying tonight?" I asked him as he clasped my hand and propelled me up the walkway to the front door.

"I thought we might stay a week or two," he said nonchalantly.

I skidded to a stop. "Really?"

He kissed me gently. "Really."

You don't know how excited I was. I loved the Merry Men, but I was way past ready to spend some time with just Ranger. Ranger had been very careful of the limits the doctor had set for my recovery, so we'd spent time cuddling only, nothing more. I had a feeling that was about to change now that I was cleared for normal activities.

Oh boy!

I flung myself into his arms again. "Have I told you how much I love you?" I asked as I squeezed the air out of him.

He kissed the side of my injured head ever so gently. "Not today. But I know. And I love you too."

We paused in front of the door and I waited expectantly and impatiently for Ranger to open the door. He pulled a black box out of his pocket instead and handed it to me.

I opened it and found a key on a Wonder Woman keychain. I looked up at him with tears in my eyes.

"I know you don't want to rush things, don't want us to move in together yet. And I respect that. But I want you to know that I consider this your home, too. Your key fob will get you past the gate and the security system, and this key will get you in the front door. I'll give you directions. Anytime you want to come here, with me or without me, it's your house too."

I sucked in a breath, trying to keep from crying all over Ranger.

"You okay, Babe?" he asked as he pulled me into his arms. I nodded against his chest. I was better than okay, I was great!

"Just didn't expect this," I said against his shirt. "Thank you."

He tilted my chin up so I had to look at him. "I never thought I'd find anyone who could accept my life, could accept me, love me as I am. So thank you," he said as he kissed me.

Yep, that did it, it pushed me over the edge and I started bawling as I buried my head against his neck.

I could feel his chest rumbling as he chuckled. His arms came around me and rubbed my back as I tried to get myself under control.

I wiped away tears. "I feel the same way. Never thought anyone could ever really love me. I mean, I'm a mess. But I love you so much!"

He kissed me gently again and then stepped back, gesturing at the door.

I grinned widely and then opened it with my Wonder Woman key.

_**Author's note: **__I hope everyone had a great holiday and that 2012 is off to a great start! _

_I think this is the next to last chapter, unless my muse hijacks the story again (which has happened several times). Last chapter will be smutty, so you can pretend they're riding off into the sunset to happily ever after now if you'd prefer to keep it PG-13._

_I have a new story that I've started posting tonight. Hopefully you'll enjoy it too! So add me to your author alerts if you'd like to get a notice about it. It's titled "Distracting Ranger" and will have an eventual Babe HEA after some hijinks, humor and humility (mostly on Ranger's part)._

_Please review and get my 2012 off to a great start!_

_Thank you all! ~ Angela_


	88. Chapter 88

_**Chapter 88**_

The house wasn't Ranger. It was Carlos. His apartment on seven was tastefully decorated and so was his house. But the house had all the little personal touches that his apartment lacked. There were photos of Julie and who I assumed were his parents and siblings scattered around the house. The office had actual novels, not just business manuals. The kitchen had actual junk food it in, presumable for me.

I was moved almost to tears when I found a photo of me and Ranger in the bedroom. It was clearly from a security camera outside of the bond's office, but it was a great photo. Ranger was leaning against his Porsche and I was leaning against him, his arms around my waist and my hands on his chest.

More than the intimate body language, it was the expressions on our faces that captivated my attention. Ranger had his half smile on his face but even with the photo blown up from a distance, his eyes were tender. I was smiling up at him, and I was surprised at the look of pure happiness on my own face.

Oh boy, if this is what we'd looked like together, no wonder everyone assumed we were a couple! But I knew the photo was at least 18 months old since I hadn't been in Trenton this past summer. I had been in North Carolina.

"Wow," I murmured.

"I don't know how I didn't see this, Babe," Ranger said as he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me tight. "But this showed up on my desk one day a few months after you left. I suspect Santos," he said wryly.

I laughed. It did seem like something Lester would do. "We're together now. That's all that matters," I told him.

He pressed a kiss to the back of my neck. I took that as agreement.

I was stunned to find a bunch of clothing for me in the closet and all of my favorite brands of toiletries in the bathroom. I turned to Ranger with raised eyebrows.

He rubbed the back of his neck and I knew that meant he was feeling faintly embarrassed. "I wasn't ready to admit it to myself but I'd already started buying things for when you were here."

I just blinked at him in shock. "Breathe, Babe," he said with a laugh as he kissed the tip of my nose. I stuck my tongue out at him and he chuckled again.

Then he took me on a tour of the rest of the house. We had a snack that Ella had brought earlier and then Ranger took me out walking around the perimeter of the grounds while it was still light. There was a gigantic back yard surrounded by at least a ten-foot tall fence. The edge had a walking path of small pea gravel.

"Jogging path?" I asked Ranger. I was not surprised when he nodded.

"I'm not doing that!" He just chuckled and squeezed my hand. He wasn't in a chatty mood.

We got back into the house as sun sank beyond the trees.

"It's been a wonderful day," I told him as we stood in front of the large picture window and watched the last vestiges of pink faded from the sky. "Thank you."

He just kissed me gently.

"So, um, I guess I should go start getting ready for bed," I said with a bright red blush.

His lips quirked into a half smile. "We don't have to do more than just sleeping, Babe. There's no rush if you aren't ready yet."

I hid my face against his chest for a moment. "Oh, I'm more than ready!" I told him. "Just feeling a little anxious since it's been so long."

"I think we'll both remember how," he chuckled.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not worried about that part!" I told him. "Just don't want you to be disappointed or anything."

His fingers tipped my chin up. "You could never disappoint me, Babe. Hell, I'm more likely to disappoint you!"

My eyebrows furrowed together. "You're the Cuban sex god! How could you say that?"

He grinned at my nickname for him. "It's been a hell of a long time for me too. And I've been barely keeping myself under control while you've been injured. I'll probably lose my mind the minute you touch me."

I grinned cheekily at him. "Is that a challenge?"

"Babe!" he said as he kissed me, all of his passion pouring into that kiss. It was overwhelming. What was I worrying about again?

I had his shirt fisted in my hands and I was up on my tiptoes when I finally regained awareness of my surroundings. I stepped back and smoothed the wrinkles on his shirt. He just grinned at my blush. "I think we'll figure out how all the pieces are supposed to fit together, Babe."

I rolled my eyes at him. "I just want it to be… well, special."

"We'll be together. There's no possible way it could be anything but special."

He had me there.

"Just give me some time to get pretty, okay?" I simply asked.

"You're always beautiful, Babe, but take whatever time you need."

I went back up on my tiptoes to kiss him gently. "Thank you."

Then I rushed back to the big master suite and into the closet. I thought I'd seen some of my more recent purchases there and I wanted to double check. Yep, the sexy pale blue gown I'd bought was there. God bless Ella!

I jumped into the shower and used the basket of toiletries provided by Ella to make everything smooth and soft. There was a jar of brown sugar vanilla exfoliating scrub that smelled good enough that I wanted to grab a spoon and have it for dessert. I'm not sure how it would taste, but it made my skin baby butt soft.

I stepped out of the shower and towel dried my super short curls before working in a little of relaxing crème that Mr. Alexander had given me. It calmed the chaos of my curls now that they were only a couple of inches long and helped them to be soft and tangle free. The only positive was that it now took less than two minutes to do my hair. Not much you can do when you don't have any hair, but I was just beyond grateful that it would grow back eventually.

I found a jar of sinfully expensive body butter in the same brown sugar vanilla scent as the body scrub and I slathered myself in it. Then I wanted to nibble on my arm and I had to resist the self-cannibalism urge. Maybe I needed a snack first!

I applied just a tiny bit of makeup to make my eyes sparkle. By the time I'd finished this, my hair was pretty much dry and cooperating, falling into soft curls rather than the demented tootsie roll curls it was without the relaxing crème. God bless Mr. Alexander, too.

Then I slipped into the silk nightie. It was quite possibly the most sexy thing that I'd ever seen, and it was for sure the sexiest thing I'd ever owned. It was pure silk and it flowed over my moisturized skin like water.

The front had a low cowl neck that showed off my cleavage in the best possible way. The straps were medium thickness and left most of my neck bare. It flowed close to my curves and then fell straight to my ankles, slits up the sides allowing me to walk easily. But the piece de resistance was the back. It was essentially backless, falling into a draped cowl that showed off the top of my butt cleavage. It shimmered as I moved, caressing my curves without clinging too tightly to anything.

Like I said, it was the sexiest thing I'd ever worn before. Tina had found it online and sent me the link. I couldn't resist spending the outrageous sum to have it. It was worth every penny.

I sucked in a deep breath and then stepped out of the bathroom. The lights were off, with a few lamps casting pools of light, and the fireplace was crackling merrily, sending dancing shadows around the room. There was soft and sultry Latin music playing in the background.

Ranger had changed into a pair of loose silk lounge pants. He was shirtless, be still my heart, and barefoot. His hair was loose like I liked it and slightly damp. He'd showered too. There was a wine bucket on the table in the corner and what looked like a bottle of champagne already open. There was also a big bowl of chocolate covered strawberries.

My mouth was watering, but it wasn't for the food.

"Babe," he breathed when he saw me. I smiled at the look of complete shock on his face. It wasn't often I got to surprise Batman, and I wanted to enjoy it.

I strolled towards him, my hips swaying to the music he'd selected for us. It suited him, it was sexy as hell.

He just stared at me for a moment once I'd stopped in front of him. Then he shook himself slightly and kissed me gently. "You look absolutely amazing."

"Thank you. So do you."

He blinked and then handed me a flute of champagne. I took a sip and then he replaced the glass at my lips with a strawberry. I took a bite and moaned as the flavor of the ripe, juicy strawberry competed with the smooth dark chocolate. Then the champagne flute was back and the bubbles of the beverage intensified the flavors.

Ranger's eyes were deep and dark by now. I reached past him and picked up a strawberry, holding it to his lips. His eyes never left mine as he bit into it, a bit of strawberry juice running down my fingers. I shivered when his rough tongue lapped the juice from my fingers. Ranger took the cap of the strawberry from my hand and licked away the small smear of chocolate. Then he tossed the cap on the tray and grabbed a fresh strawberry for me.

We took turns feeding each other the strawberries and champagne until they were all gone. We were both breathing erratically. He leaned forward and nipped at my lips, nibbling the chocolate left there. I had my hands fisted in his hair as he angled his lips against mine.

I moaned as his tongue traced my lips before his tongue slipped into my mouth.

My arms tightened around his neck and his arms went around my waist to hold me to him. I felt him still and gasp as he found there was no back to my gown.

He pulled back slightly and I smiled. "Babe?" he said as he turned me around to get the back view. He gasped loudly.

"Madre de Dios!" he muttered. I looked back over my shoulder to grin at him.

"You like?"

His blazing eyes answered for him. He fell to his knees and gripped my hips tightly as his lips traced the edge of the material at my ass. He left hot open mouth kisses along my spine and I shivered as his lips ventured lower and lower. By the time he was leaving little nips along the top of my cheeks, I was pretty sure it was only his arms that were keeping me upright.

He nipped hard at the valley between my cheeks and I squeaked slightly in shock. He was breathing hard, but it's not like I was getting any oxygen into my lungs myself, so I couldn't judge.

"Stephanie," he whispered against my spine as he rose back to his feet. "You are the most beautiful sight I've ever seen."

He kissed his way back up before devoting ample attention to my neck and ears. He nibbled, he kissed, he suckled and I felt like I was about to burst into flames from just his lips on the side of my neck. Then he switched to the other side and my hands flew back and held onto the material of the legs of his lounge pants behind me for dear life. His hands were still cradling my hips and holding me very tightly against his hips.

Yeah, he most definitely liked the gown.

He tortured me with just his lips along my neck until I couldn't take it anymore. With a gasp, I pulled myself away from him, turned around and then flung myself back into his arms. His lips crashed down on mine as I thrust my hands into his hair and pulled his head down to mine.

He devoured me with his kiss. My mind was swirling and my entire world compressed down to Ranger's hands and lips. Nothing else in the world mattered. If anyone walked into the room right then, I would shoot them without a second thought so I could get back to Ranger's touches and kisses.

His hands slid down to my rear and he pulled my hips hard against his. His grip wasn't the only thing that was hard. He lifted me up and I tore my lips away from his to gasp. Then I wrapped my legs around his waist and he groaned against the side of my neck. I was completely with him. It was the most staggeringly erotic moment of my life as silk slid against silk.

His big hands were holding me up as his lips sought mine again. He moved us towards the big bed as his lips demanded a response from me. Yeah, like it took much from Batman to get a response from me.

Then he was lowering me to the bed. Our skin never lost contact as he braced himself above me on his forearms. His lips left mine and traced a fiery path down my throat as he nibbled and licked down to my aching breasts. He nipped at my nipples through the silk and I gasped loudly.

He lifted his head to smile at me as I writhed under him. Then he bit down gently on my nipple and I think I screamed a little. I felt him chuckle against my breast and I jerked at the sensations that shot straight down to my doo dah.

"Carlos," I moaned. He growled against my breast. He really liked it when I used his real name. Then he switched to the other breast so it didn't feel neglected or unwanted. And boy, was it neither neglected nor unwanted. I was panting heavily and clutching desperately at his shoulders as he nipped and suckled.

Then he moved down to press an open mouth kiss to my belly button through the gossamer thin fabric. I was digging my nails into his back at this point, desperate for him.

His hands stroked firmly down my sides to grasp my hips. He tilted them up and kissed my doo dah. I bucked against his lips and he chuckled. I was babbling incoherently at this point but he seemed to appreciate all of the sounds I was making. Every time I would moan his name, he would nip me, not hard enough to hurt, but enough to make me want to sing the Hallelujah chorus. In Swahili.

Then his oh so clever lips and tongue nipped me and he had to hold me down to keep me from climbing the bed. Oh dear God!

I was almost crying from need as his tongue swept against me, the thin silk no match for the hot wetness of his mouth. The smoothness of the silk combined with the firm thrust of his tongue against me was almost enough to send me into the stratosphere, no rocket booster required. NASA could save a ton of money if they just hired Ranger instead of building space shuttles.

"Oh Carlos!" I yelped. "Please!"

"Please what, Babe?" he growled against my center.

My hands were fisted in the comforter and my chest was heaving as I tried to get oxygen into my deprived lungs.

"Please," I cried again.

He slowly swept the silk of my gown up my legs and over my thighs. He was moving at a glacially slow pace that was pure torment. Once the silk was bunched around my waist, he froze for just the barest moment before pressing another hot kiss to my core.

I started writhing again, the almost painful burning low in my belly demanding my, and his, immediate attention.

"Carlos!" I called again and then shuddered as he growled against me, the shock ways traveling to the tips of my toes and the end of my hair.

His lips swept out and circled my clitoris and I shook from the electric sensations shooting through me. "Ahhh!" I breathed.

Then he did it again. And again. And again. And then unexpectedly two of his fingers thrust into my wet center as he suckled my clitoris. I flew apart screaming his name as I writhed and bucked.

I think I may have even lost consciousness. When I came back to awareness, he was lightly stroking me with just the tip of his tongue and his fingers were still buried inside of me.

I met his eyes in the firelight. And then his lips and tongue grew bolder. I jerked, the slow fire in my belly flaming back into a raging inferno. "Again," he demanded and he slowly pumped his fingers and in and out of me. My legs started to tremble again as he licked and nipped and sucked until I couldn't stand it anymore. My hips shot up against his mouth but he simply followed my hips with his fingers and tongue and pushed me over the edge again.

This time, when I floated back from the amazing high, he was lying next to me, gently stroking my hair as I shuddered with aftershocks.

I opened my eyes and gazed into his. Then he smiled at me, the full 200-watt smile that for years had rattled my brain. I just smiled back, still incapable of speech.

It took me several minutes before I stopped shaking. I rolled so I was tucked against Ranger's chest and started nuzzling his neck. He sucked in a breath as I nibbled where his shoulders and his neck met. I took my dear sweet time investigating that neighborhood before pushing at his chest. He obediently rolled to his back, his eyes heavily hooded and hot enough to ignite a forest fire. Better keep him away from the Pine Barrens or Smokey the Bear will be seriously displeased.

I pushed myself up and started tracing the column of muscles in his neck with the tip of my tongue. He groaned. I smiled.

I started working my way down, following the smooth ridges of his chest before nibbling on his flat nipples. His hands were now fisted in the comforter and I wondered why I'd ever thought he was the master of control. He wasn't so controlled now and I loved every second of it.

I got to his abs and of course I had to spend plenty of time rewarding them for being so strong and sexy. I nipped at his nonexistent love handles as I stroked his strong thighs with my hands.

He was mumbling in both English and Spanish and I adored the fact that I could do this to him. Payback really was a bitch.

I French kissed his naval, drawing a long moan from him. Then I ever so slowly worked my way down, following the path of downy soft dark hair down to the top of his lounge pants. I slowly unwrapped what I considered to be the best present ever and pushed the pants down over his lean hips.

He had to lift his hips so I could drag down the material, and he groaned as the silk slid across his pride and joy. I swept them down past his knees and tossed them off the edge of the bed.

And boy was it both proud and joyful to see me. Positively ecstatic, really. He was hard as steel and hot as a volcano as I nibbled and nipped gently at his length. He groaned when I delicately licked the tip before circling it with my tongue. I traced the veins straining prominently all the way down to the taunt orbs at the base of his shaft.

He almost shouted my name when I started nipping at them, soothing the slight hurt with swirls from my tongue. He was writing now, his hips bucking hard enough to almost push me off the bed.

I'd worked my way back to his erection when his hands grabbed mine and pulled me away.

"Please, Babe!" he cried as he lifted off the bed.

"Please what, Carlos?" I purred.

He groaned. "I'm too close to the edge."

I smiled and he groaned again at the look in my eyes. "And that's a bad thing how?" I gasped.

"I need to be in you," he whispered brokenly and I felt myself flood with desire again at the husky promise in his voice. "For the first time, I need to be in you, querida."

I sucked in a deep breath, as deep as I could manage since I was still wearing the silk nightgown, and slithered up his abs and chest.

He slowly lifted the nightgown over my head, groaning as more and more of me was exposed to his burning stare. My mother always said that staring wasn't polite, but it felt like the highest form of compliment right now.

I had to sit up so he could drag it over my head. The silk was replaced almost instantly with his hands and lips as he rolled me to my back. I was back to gasping as he grew additional hands and touched every part of me at the same time.

He settled himself between my thighs and I almost jumped out of my skin at the feeling of him hot, heavy and ready against me. He leaned against my torso and kissed me deeply as he adjusted himself at my entrance.

He pulled back slightly and completely disarmed me with the love shining in his dark eyes. "Te amo, Estafania," he whispered as he slowly slid into me. "I love you, Babe."

"I love you too, Carlos," I replied in a soft whisper.

Then we both sighed once he was completely inside me. He froze for a moment, his face a mix of pleasure and pain, and then I lifted my legs to wrap around his hips. He moaned, his eyes going a shade darker if that was even possible. Is there a color darker than black?

Then he started to move, stroking steadily as I lifted my hips against his. My hands were wrapped around his biceps and he held himself up slightly to keep from squishing me.

The tension was back in my belly now, despite the two mind-blowing orgasms I'd had earlier. There was only the sound of our desperate gasps, moans and groans to compete with the crackling of the fireplace.

I tilted my hips to take him even deeper and he thrust harder against me, both of us moaning as we kept eye contact.

"Carlos," I whispered as I tightened all of my internal muscles around his hard length.

He sucked in a jagged gasp. "Babe!" he practically growled.

He was close, but so was I. He's Batman, so he knew this. He shifted his weight to one arm and reached the other down between us to use his thumb to brush against my clitoris while he stroked steadily inside me.

I felt my muscles start to tighten and quiver. "Oh!" I cried out at his first touch of my clitoris. "Carlos!"

My muscles tightened painfully and then bliss erupted. Ranger growled loudly and started thrusting harder into me. After only a couple of almost savage thrusts, he called my name as his cock jerked inside of me.

His wild thrusts grinding against my pelvis triggered a secondary reaction from me and I started shaking again. Somehow, we'd kept our eyes locked even while the world was exploding around us and I saw his eyes go from dark and stormy to soft and dreamy. I marveled at the fact that I'd put that look of pure bliss on his face.

He was still inside me and I was still hypersensitive as he leaned forward to kiss me softly. My eyes finally drifted closed as he gently and reverently kissed me. "I love you," he whispered against my lips. "Never forget that."

I smiled without opening my eyes. I didn't have the strength left. "And I love you too. Never forget that."

He slid out of me and I whimpered my legs finally released their fevered grip around his hips. I was definitely going to be sore tomorrow, but it was so worth it.

He lifted me up and pulled back the blankets. We'd been so caught up in the moment that we were still lying on top of the comforter. He slid us both between the smooth sheets and I sighed when he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me against his chest.

"That special enough for you, Babe?" he asked against my ear.

I figured my completely euphoric smile was answer enough.

We woke up to have other special moments during the night. I'd be lucky if I could even walk tomorrow, forget about dragging me off jogging around the Batcave's property!

I was right, I couldn't walk the next day. Not that I complained because it meant I got to spend all day in bed with a Cuban sex god. And who in their right mind would ever object to that?

We only left the bedroom to go in search of food, and I think only then because the beast that is my stomach started growling ferociously. Ranger joked that he was afraid my stomach would crawl of out my belly and try to eat him, and he wasn't entirely sure his hand-to-hand combat skills were sufficient to take it down.

Yeah, somehow he turned into a regular comedian. But I won't complain much because Ranger laughing like that has to be the most beautiful sight in the whole world, and it was ridiculously sexy too. Lunch got pushed back by a little bit after that, but I don't recall hearing any complaints.

On our third day there, Ranger did get me out to his jogging path. I made it two circuits to his four or five, I lost count, but it was beautiful and peaceful and I had a very nice view to keep me entertained for about half the time. And no, I don't mean the landscaping. The sight of him in teeny, tiny little running pants would keep any woman jogging and walking just to get a glimpse of those tight buns as they jogged past.

We spent the evening cuddled together on the couch watching movies. He had both Ghosbusters movies, but I was nice and let him pick something else. I could pretty much quote the movies verbatim, so probably it wasn't worth putting Ranger through me talking along with the characters.

After a couple more days, we had to have a cleaning party since Ranger had told Ella that we'd take care of everything ourselves to preserve our privacy. I insisted that we needed music to clean by, but Ranger's musical tastes don't really include Bon Jovi or Taio Cruz, so he put on a sexy Latin CD with a pounding bass and a sexy baritone crooning in Spanish. I have no idea what the singer was saying, but it sounded damn good to me.

My jaw nearly fell off my face when Ranger swept me into his arms and started dancing around the kitchen with me, singing along with the music.

After seeing The Dick doing Joyce on the dining room table, I'd never imagined that anything could ever convince me to give sex on a table a try. But the combination of Ranger's sexily swinging hips and his husky voice in my ear serenading me was too much for my fragile hormones and they mutinied.

Note to self: find bleach wipes before eating at table.

As wonderful as a week alone had been, I was starting to go slightly stir crazy and I was pretty sure Ranger felt the same way.

"Get dressed, Babe," he told me as I was finished up breakfast.

"Huh?" What can I say, I'm not a morning person. And someone, who shall remain nameless, had kept me up all damn night again. Not that I'm complaining. But it does make conversation after only five or so hours of sleep a challenge.

He smiled at my clueless look. "Get dressed. We're going to the beach."

I blinked at him. He laughed and picked me up and carried me into the bedroom. I kind of figured he had something else on his mind at that point, and I'll point out his actions of the previous week as evidence, but he really did want me to get dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt. Go figure.

Within thirty minutes, we were in Ranger's Porsche and on the way to Point Pleasant. We didn't do anything in particular, just wandered around on the beach until my growling stomach led us to a hot dog stand for lunch. I told him stories about when I worked at a hot dog stand at the beach when I was a teenager and he told me stories about when he and Lester were kids.

I absolutely cannot wait to share some of them with Tina! Lester's in deep shit now that Ranger's telling me stories that started, "Santos and I were about fifteen…"

We walked hand in hand on the beach for a while before Ranger rented lounge chairs from one of the few vendors still on the beach this late in the season. It was way too cold for me to get into the water, so we just pulled the chairs to the edge of the surf. I would dip my feet into the water as it rolled by us and Ranger would just shake his head at me. I'm sure he could have swum fourteen miles in the frigid water, but I wasn't willing to risk freezing my very best asset, my ass, off in the cold water. No sireee.

When the sun finally sank, Ranger easily lifted his lounge chair. I was attempting to drag mine back towards the kiosk, but Ranger just picked it up too and hauled it away. Show off.

Ranger's magic GPS found us a little whole in the wall but absolutely delicious Italian restaurant on the way back to the Batcave. I tried to temper my Italian love of all things breaded, fried and covered in cheese with the healthier eating habits that Tina had beaten into me back in North Carolina, and I split the difference by ordering a to die for chicken parmesan with an extra large side salad with a balsamic vinaigrette on the side. Ranger was amused and dare I say a bit impressed with my choice.

I was even able to tempt him into a bite or two of my tiramisu for dessert. Judging from his dark eyes and white knuckles as I vocally enjoyed it, though, I don't think espresso soaked ladyfingers was quite what he wanted to dessert. I had a feeling I'd be getting another dessert as soon as we got back home.

Home. Such a little word but one with such immense meaning.

The Batcave felt like home. I knew that it was just a vacation, a little interlude, but sharing the space with Ranger was easy, far, far easier than it had been with Joe or The Dick. Ranger didn't expect me to do all of the cleaning because I was born with an XY chromosome, he pitched in and did what needed to be done with needing to be asked or praised excessively for putting a sock in the hamper. If it was dirty, he cleaned it. The end.

It made me love him even more, if that was even possible. Hell, what woman wouldn't love a sexy, strong man who cleans without being asked? I hit the jackpot with him, let me tell you. And if I ever forget this, you have my permission to smack me upside the head to remind me. Just don't hit me too hard or Ranger will hit you back. And I'm willing to bet that he hits harder than you do.

He would listen to me when I wanted to talk but he didn't try to push me into talking when I was in an introspective mood. I tried to do the same for him. My year away had helped me to get more comfortable with silence and I didn't feel the need to fill it with chatter all of the time. But he got an amused and tender smile on his face when I started chattering and he'd just listen. If I got too talkative for him, he'd find another use for my mouth instead. Gotta tell ya, that just made me want to talk all the more.

The day after our beach retreat, I spend the day watching TV, reading and catching up with friends and family while Ranger answered some urgent emails that Tank had sent him. He apologized for having to work during our vacation, but I promised to find a better use for his hands a little bit later once he was done with work.

He kissed me hard and then spun around, marching away like there was a drill sergeant barking orders at him over his shoulder. I loved that I could have that kind of effect on him. God only knows he can make me forget my own name with just a look.

Lula and Connie were astounded to hear about a domestic Ranger. Mary Lou wanted to know if he could open a training camp for husbands, and could I get a discount for her when she enrolled Lenny. Tina was amused and said Lester was the same way. He had a much higher tolerance for mess and disorder than Tina, as I'd learned when he'd been my temporary roommate in North Carolina, but he didn't complain when Tina asked him to pick up his stuff. Must be a family trait.

My mom and grandma just caught me up on the gossip I was missing by being out of town. Now that I wasn't blowing stuff up on a regular basis, the busybodies of the 'Burg had mostly moved on and weren't talking much about anymore.

The fact that Joe was dating my former nurse, Sandy, who hated his mother and grandma Bella even more than I had was front-page news instead. It was a bit evil of me, but I have to admit that I was slightly amused that he was still a topic of gossip when I wasn't anymore. He'd complained so much about my job and how it gave him ulcers, but now I was in a committed relationship, with Batman no less, living a normal, happy life and he still had a girlfriend who gave him ulcers.

But I liked Sandy, she was smart, funny and spunky. She wasn't Italian, horror of horrors, so she didn't buy grandma Bella's Italian voo doo crap, and called her a crazy old lady to her face. Rumor was she tried to get Joe's mom to commit Bella to the psych ward for evaluation. Actually, now that I think of it, Sandy's kind of my hero!

Ranger ambled out of his office a few hours later to find me in his gym, riding his exercise bike while watching a movie on the flat screen TV mounted to the wall.

"Babe?" he asked, sounding surprised. "You're exercising?"

I turned back and grinned at him. "Figured I needed to work on my cardiovascular endurance if I'm going to keep up with you," I told him with a wink.

He got a big, smug grin on his face. "I can help you out with that."

"Riiiight, I'm sure you can," I retorted. "In the meantime, pull up a treadmill or something and hang out with me."

He just shook his head and headed over to a big weight machine thingy that looked like it could double as a medieval torture device. Gitmo doesn't need to waterboard any terrorists, just stick them on that weird machine and they'll confess to anything with an hour. Ranger seemed to know what he was doing, though, which made exactly one of us. I could hear weights clanging and I just hit the volume button so I could hear the movie.

As we had dinner that night, which I cooked without burning down Ranger's lovely kitchen, he brought up me working at RangeMan again.

"You owe me, Babe," he told me as we ate my grilled chicken, veggies and whole wheat penne dinner.

I looked at him in surprise. "How do you figure that?"

"I've saved your life before, right?"

I nodded slowly, trying to figure out where he was going with this. "Yeah."

"So by some traditions, you have to save my life now."

I looked at him like he'd grown a second head. "And how am I supposed to do that, Batman?"

"Work full time at RangeMan."

I blinked at him. "How the heck did you make the leap from me needing to save your life to me needing to work at RangeMan?"

"Because Tank will kill me if I don't find a way to convince you. Some of the emails he sent me were from clients you'd worked with while I was gone who wanted to talk to you. Not Tank, not me. You. So you see, he'll kill me if you don't agree to a permanent, full time position."

I had to laugh at his convoluted logic.

"Think about it, Babe. You need a job and I already know you're damn good at administration and making cranky people happy. I saw you in action at the inn. And Tank said you were amazing around the office while I was in the wind. Almost all the guys have stopped by at some point to let me know how much they enjoyed having you in the office and strongly encouraged me to get you on full time. So, please, Babe, come work with us."

I leaned back against the chair and studied him for a moment. "How will 'us' manage working together all the time?" I asked. "What we've got is more important to me than a job."

I got a big smile in response. Guess that was the right answer. "To me too. Tank suggests that you'd report to him to keep us from having conflict at work. And we've worked together in the past without trouble. If we have problems, we'll work them out together."

I considered it for a minute. "I'll talk to Tank when we're back in town. If he and I can work something out, I'll do a trial period. But at the end of that, you can tell me if it's not working out for you for any reason. And vice versa."

He grinned and I thought I detected a little relief in it. "Deal."

After that, Ranger became very persuasive and tried telling me that nooners on the seventh floor would be a special employee perk just for me. I have to admit, it was a compelling argument.

Finally, sadly, our time at the Batcave was at an end. I dragged my feet when it was time to go, not really ready to leave yet.

"Sorry, Babe, but we do have to get back. But we can come back anytime you feel like it. It's less than an hour away from Haywood," he said as he held my hand and gently pulled me towards the door.

"Promise?"

"Absolutely. And if you can stay awake while I drive home, you might even be able to find your way back."

I smiled at his joke. Something about the sensual purr of his Porsche guaranteed that I'd fall asleep and have great dreams if I was in it more than ten minutes at a time.

"I know we have to go back. But I'm just a little sad to be leaving. It kind of feels like this is where we really became a couple. You know?"

He kissed me gently. "I know, Babe. But we will be back."

I closed the door behind me with a sigh. Using my Wonder Woman keychain, I made sure the door was locked while Ranger put the small bag of clothes I wanted to take back with me in the miniscule trunk of the Porsche.

As predicted, I fell asleep on the way back. What, his car is magical. Who needs Ambien when you've got a Porsche?

I woke up when he lifted me into his arms. "Whazza?"

He chuckled. "Heading upstairs, Babe."

I blinked and looked around. "This isn't my apartment."

Ranger froze. "No. It's my apartment."

I looked at him for a second, trying to make my sleeping brain wake up. "Stay with me tonight, Babe. I'll go with you to your apartment tomorrow night. But I don't want you there by yourself yet."

"Why? The moron is dead, so it should be safe."

"Yeah, but I want to be with you your first night back there and we have to pick up a skip tonight. So stay here tonight where I know you'll be safe and we can stay at your apartment tomorrow night."

I was sure there was some argument I was missing but I wasn't completely coherent enough yet to figure it out. Ranger's told me many times that he's an opportunist, so he simply took this opportunity to carry me into the elevator and up to his apartment on the seventh floor before I could get my brain going.

He gave me a sweet kiss and tucked me under his million thread count sheets before changing into SWAT clothes and heading downstairs to help plan a coup d'état or something like that.

When I woke up the next morning, Ranger was lying next to me with his arm around my waist holding me close. I savored the feeling of his warm, bare skin next to mine and floated in limbo as I wasn't quite awake but not asleep anymore either. It was my idea of heaven on earth.

In the end, we had to get up and get to work. I spoke with Tank, who practically begged me to take the job. He hated the paperwork and Ranger had already told me how much he hated having to placate cranky clients, but I was good at both. And I actually liked working with people for the most part. So I agreed to give working at RangeMan full time a shot. I was glad when Tank managed to restrain himself from kissing me in joy.

I got the megawatt smile from Ranger when I told him and Lester was almost giddy that I'd be around most of the time. We'd bonded and I couldn't imagine not having my little brother around to annoy me, tease me and love me.

It worked out well. I got do to stuff that I was good at and enjoyed while hanging out with some of the most important people in my life: Ranger, the love of my life; Lester, my little brother of the heart; and my Merry Men. Of course, any job that lets me watch hot guys run on treadmills or spar in itty bitty shorts is also a good thing.

I kept my apartment even though I knew he wanted me to move in with him at Haywood. He said he understood that I still needed my own space, but it was very rare that I spent the night completely alone. Sometimes he wouldn't find me until really late if he had a take down or surveillance and sometimes he had to get up so early it was still the middle of the night for certain activities that I probably don't want to know about. We took turns staying on the seventh floor at RangeMan or at my apartment. It took a lot of compromise, and lots of deep breathing on both of our parts, but we were both committed to making it work.

We went back to the Batcave anytime we had a free day or two. It was the place for us to reconnect emotionally as well as physically. It really was home, and I had a feeling that it would be officially home for me too sooner rather than later.

Of course, anywhere we were together was home.

The End!

_**Author's note: **__Okay so this was my first attempt at smut and I was dreadfully anxious about it, which is why it's taken forever to get it posted. So please be kind!_

_This story is (finally) at an end! But I really like this version of the characters and haven't ruled out a sequel in the future if there's any interest._

_Thank you so much for following along. This was my first story and it meant more than I can say that you sent me messages and left reviews. Thank you all!_


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